All articles by James Bessey
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CommentContracts: Delay signing at your peril
Starting on site without a contract can have major consequences. The more work that has been done and the more issues arising as a result, the harder it will be to get one signed off
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CommentAdjudication: All aboard
Once you start adjudication you are tied in to the end of the process, unlike court proceedings where more emphasis is put on settling and cutting the cost spend
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CommentA stitch in time
It’s best to serve payment and pay less notices on time, especially in a climate where insolvency is common
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CommentAmending contracts: Tweak havoc
Amending an existing contract can make commercial sense, but the procuring party needs to take care not to open itself up to claims from the other original tenderers
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CommentThe importance of witnesses: Suárez vs Evra
When Luis Suárez ended up in front of the FA tribunal in the race row with Patrice Evra, both appeared as witnesses - and what we heard determined the case
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CommentLLPs: You’re not bullet proof
Don’t be fooled by the apparent protection offered by a limited liability partnership - you could still find the family home is at risk if the LLP goes under
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CommentBe careful what you wish for: Supplemental agreements
The dire economy is prompting many parties to alter their contracts with supplemental agreements. But if you’re not careful, they may be worse than nothing
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CommentHow to look good in public: Public Contracts Regulations
If you want to venture into public sector work without falling flat on your face, then you’d do well to have a few evenings in with the Public Contracts Regulations
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CommentDo we still need Minter?: Late payments act
The Late Payments Act compensates companies for the costs they incur while waiting for their money, so we may be able to say goodbye to an old bit of case law
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CommentWho is he? And what is he to you: Adjudicator loyalties
Here’s a puzzle for you: if A and B hire X to decide a dispute, and A and X have a previous relationship, can B tell A to get lost if X decides in favour of A? (Answer below)
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CommentLook who’s footing the bill
Using outsiders to bankroll disputes has been treated with some suspicion by the courts. But the construction industry would be well advised to explore it
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CommentAldi vs WSP Group: Piercing the cover field
Many people automatically assume that the insurer will pay out simply because the premium has been paid when a claim is made. But there are certain grounds on which the insurer can refuse to pay
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CommentI’ll get you later
This is the story of a client that decided to sue a contractor but not its consultants. Then it changed its mind and went after them, too. The consultants claimed that this was abuse of process – but were they right?
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CommentPC or not PC, that is the question
James Bessey ‘Practical completion’, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder, but if you get it wrong on a PFI project then things can turn very ugly indeed…
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CommentOpening Pandora’s box
The proposal to drop the ‘contracts in writing’ rule has won praise on these pages. But what this does is let the adjudicator decide what’s in the contract – with untold consequences for dispute resolution
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CommentA negative attitude
Courts are reluctant to hear claims that make a negative case. But there is some room for manoeuvre – if you can prove a negative case in a positive way
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CommentA skip of one’s own
If a skip has your name stamped on the side, that’s your skip, isn’t it? And anyone who takes it should jolly well give it back, right? Well, not always, as this cautionary tale demonstrates
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Comment
Gate Gourmet revisited
Contractors who are thinking of growing their facilities management arms should be conscious of the risks concealed in a simple outsourcing deal
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CommentThe Singapore grip
Singapore is about to bring in its own version of the Construction Act. It has much the same aims as the English law but has a better grasp of the issues
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Features
The bitter truth
It’s difficult for an expert witness to tell the party paying them that their case leaks like a sieve, but it is in everybody’s best interests that they do just that