Legal issues and construction law

How to make joint ventures work

2021-04-12T05:00:00+01:00By James Morris

What are the elements of a successful JV, and what contractual omissions can lead to failure?

Trial by example

2021-04-09T05:00:00+01:00By Michael Sergeant

A recent case offers valuable guidance on how samples can be used cost-effectively to present complex cases

The Uber effect in construction

2021-04-07T05:00:00+01:00By Lauren Warner

What a recent ruling on employment status could mean for the building industry

Heat network regulations – time to re-evaluate?

2021-03-31T05:00:00+01:00By Hannah Giebus

Recent changes to the rules, and a growing focus on enforcement, mean heat suppliers should assess their obligations more closely

Get tooled up for the new off-payroll rules

2021-03-29T05:00:00+01:00By Michael Paulin

The IR35 system for hiring freelance contractors changes next month, but there are problems with the CEST tool intended to help implement it. What can you do?

Experts in two minds – but within one firm

2021-03-26T05:00:00+00:00By Steven Carey

A recent appeal case looked at whether a company can provide expert services in claims for and against the same party

Adjudicate first, litigate after

2021-03-24T05:00:00+00:00By Tony Bingham

A Scottish court has upheld the NEC3 provision that makes adjudication mandatory before litigation can be sought

Calling the shots – what the law says about vaccination and employment

2021-03-11T05:00:00+00:00By Francis Ho

How far can construction employers go in urging covid-19 vaccination upon their staff, asks Francis Ho

Insurers told to pay out over covid

2021-03-09T05:00:00+00:00By Jeffrey Brown

The Supreme Court has largely struck down insurers’ appeals against a ruling on their refusal to pay out over covid on business interruption insurance

Beware of ‘subject to contract’

2021-03-01T05:00:00+00:00By Victoria Peckett

Using this term implies no binding agreement has been made and thus can invalidate a supposed contract

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SNC-Lavalin arm pleads guilty to Libya fraud

2019-12-20T06:00:00+00:00By Jordan Marshall

Subsidiary of Canadian firm which owns Atkins fined more than £160m

Number of High Court disputes jumps again

2019-12-06T06:00:00+00:00By Tom Lowe

Carillion collapse blamed as annual figure heads towards 400 mark

Camden council makes £130m High Court claim against tower block contractors

2019-12-02T06:00:00+00:00By Alice Lorenzato-Lloyd

Legal action centres on Chalcots Estate evacuation in June 2017

Willmott Dixon and Hackney row over defects on resi block

2019-09-04T05:00:00+01:00By Hamish Champ

Contractor’s housing arm Willmott Partnership Homes disputes ‘many’ of council’s claims

Second law firm begins action over Lendlease share fall

2019-08-13T05:00:00+01:00By Dave Rogers, Jordan Marshall

Price plunge triggered by woes at engineering business

HS2 faces crunch ruling on Old Oak Common start date

2019-07-18T05:00:00+01:00By Jordan Marshall

Railway will hear in September whether challenge by Bechtel will stop it awarding job to Balfour Beatty team

Heathrow beats challenge against third runway

2019-05-01T11:47:00+01:00By Jordan Marshall

Twenty-one of the 26 claims were deemed to be unarguable

HS2 procurement blunders have cost us £100m, Bechtel says

2019-04-25T05:00:00+01:00By Jordan Marshall1 comments

US giant goes to court after £1.1bn Old Oak station job awarded to Balfour Beatty team

Competition watchdog accuses groundworks product firms of colluding

2019-04-09T09:35:00+01:00By Jordan Marshall

VP, MGF and Mabey have provisionally been found to have been operating a cartel

Liverpool Chinatown contractor banned from running businesses

2019-03-08T06:00:00+00:00By Jordan Marshall

Director of company responsible for developing Liverpool’s Chinatown has been disqualified for seven years

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The coronavirus crisis: What does it all mean?

2020-03-18T06:00:00+00:00By Dave Rogers, Yolande Barnes, Simon Tolson

The implications of covid-19 for construction, housing and legal

Brexit and construction law: Changing times

2017-06-23T06:00:00+01:00By Al Watson, Jill Carey, Clare Harman-Clark

One year on from the EU referendum, nobody knows how a post-Brexit world will look

Interview: Richard Saxon

2016-08-04T06:00:00+01:00By Francis Ho

Richard Saxon, chair of the Joint Contracts Tribunal, speaks to Building legal columnist Francis Ho about new kinds of contracts, the competition, and where he thinks the industry is heading

Crossing the line

2015-08-28T07:00:00+01:00By Roxane McMeeken

With the Calais crisis still a hot media topic, the government is on the warpath against construction companies employing illegal workers. But is the sector doing enough to make sure it doesn’t get caught out?

Procurement on trial

2014-08-22T06:00:00+01:00By Joey Gardiner1 comments

Construction firms are increasingly emboldened to take the government to court over its procurement decisions, but who’s to blame?

Museum of Liverpool: Nightmare at the museum

2013-08-08T00:00:00+01:00By Joey Gardiner

The £72m Museum of Liverpool may have opened in 2011, but problems with the design and build mean parts of the iconic building are still inaccessible to the public. Last week’s £1.13m court judgment highlights the dangers for small consultants on big projects

Insurance special report: BIM

2012-10-26T00:00:00+01:00By Roxane McMeeken

The rise of collaboration software has created a lot of questions for insurers - not least how to divide up and assign blame if anything goes wrong

Costly legal disputes: Everyone's a loser

2012-06-15T00:00:00+01:00By Emily Wright

The amount spent on legal disputes has jumped by a third in the UK over the past year. Why are construction firms still so keen to spend on litigation?

Sparks fly: The row over electricians' wage agreements

2012-01-04T10:30:00+00:00By Iain Withers

The decision of seven major M&E contractors to break away from the 40-year-old JIB wage agreement was prompted by an ‘urgent need to modernise’ but has already led to angry clashes between workers and police. Building reports on a row that threatens to become the sector’s biggest industrial relations dispute ...

Hackney Empire vs Aviva Insurance: The Empire strikes back

2011-07-15T00:00:00+01:00By Iain Withers

This is the tale of a theatre project, backed by Lord Sugar, that landed its client with a £3.2m headache. Now eight years on there’s a legal battle over a bond between the insurer and the theatre owner

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