Legal Comment – Page 87
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CommentWhat do you mean, ‘as far as possible’?
The Supreme Court has been looking at how to interpret words. It favours looking at commercial intention rather than literal meaning – but are intentions any easier to fathom?
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CommentBribery Bill: Greasing the wheels of commerce
Bribery is endemic in many parts of the world where British firms do business, but any that succumb to it will soon face fairly horrific penalties
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CommentCollatoral contracts: The unkindness of strangers
Collateral contracts are supposed to protect those not party to a contractual set-up. They work, but they also introduce flint-hearted button counters into the equation
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CommentMatch of the day: Mott MacDonald vs Multiplex
Mott MacDonald vs Multiplex is a game of two halves – first there’s the disputing, then there’s coughing up the legal costs. Alas, these are so high, neither wants to call it a draw
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Feeling the squeeze
Be careful how you go about recovering money that is owed you – you might fall foul of the Protection from Harassment Act and end up paying them
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CommentScheming minds
The government has released a consultation on the Scheme for Construction Contracts that proposes big changes in the industry’s rules. Here’s what I think of them …
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CommentOff half-cock
You’d think that getting the contract right before beginning work was just common sense. Especially since, if you don’t, the only people likely to win are the lawyers …
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Going nuclear: contracts for decommissioning work
Everything you wanted to know about the nuclear decommissioning sector but were afraid to ask – explained to you in a three-part series starting with this overview
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CommentMJ coulson’s model answer
Judging construction disputes can be like sitting exams, but at least we can all learn from the results – as in this case where a builder flunked everything
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Commitment issues
Helen Garthwaite and Brad Fearn The carbon trading scheme was launched last week, and you need to know what the new rules could mean for you – including who will pay for it all
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CommentElectronic disclosure: Paying lawyers to look at porn
Because they get into a court case and have to disclose all kinds of electronic documents, no matter how embarrassing. And the cost of doing that can be spectacular. David Rogers and Debika Ray report on a growing problem
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CommentComing back to haunt us
Bouygues vs Dahl-Jensen, one of the most controversial adjudication cases ever, has just risen from the dead. And it’s put the willies up a lot of lawyers
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CommentA new form of pest control
If you’re peeved with an adjudicator’s decision and start playing silly games rather than comply with it, the likelihood is that you will get clobbered in the courts
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Tendering: Everyone get your trainers on
Employment and skills strategies are being implemented across the construction industry but care needs to be taken when inviting tenders and drawing up the contract
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CommentHow the defence went up in smoke
Here’s a case where the employer claimed his withholding notices had been burned in a lightning strike and stolen. How was an adjudicator to deal with such matters?
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CommentContracts at the OK corral: Conflicting terms
If contract terms don’t amount to anything more than a succession of conflicting proposals, expect a legal showdown. What matters then is who fires the final shot …
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CommentAvoiding disputes: Fancy a game of battleships?
Every contract tells you to issue a notice when something is going wrong. But that launches warships – and makes it virtually certain that something will go wrong
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Do the paperwork: Illegal workers
The UK Border Agency is cracking down on illegal working and the penalties for employers can be prison or heavy fines. So take care you’re making all the right checks
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Construction contracts: Unintended consequences
Here’s a curious story in which the drafters of a contract tried to save a little time and paper, and ended up fundamentally changing the nature of the agreement
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CommentAdjudication: Instant justice
As we all know, an adjudicator’s decision is binding until a final decision is made by a court or arbitrator, no matter how wrong it is. But that ‘final decision’ can be made very quickly