Opinion – Page 618

  • Comment

    Raging bull

    2003-03-07T00:00:00Z

    A judge was so irate with an expert witness that he complained about him to a disciplinary tribunal – which promptly dismissed his complaints as a lot of hot air

  • Comment

    On targets

    2003-03-07T00:00:00Z

    The industry must talk with clients, and clients must insist on partnering if we are to really achieve the strategic forum's objectives

  • Comment

    Hansom

    2003-03-07T00:00:00Z

    This week, Atkins gets weird on us, Tessa Jowell makes just one point, Roger Bullivant gets plugged and Geoff Wright is hounded by ill fortune

  • Comment

    The word is not enough

    2003-03-07T00:00:00Z

    Oral variations to a contract are a fact of site life, but a recent decision seems to mean that if you have one, you can't take a dispute to adjudication

  • Comment

    Existential angst

    2003-03-07T00:00:00Z

    A recent case reminds us that if the parties fail to conclude negotiations on terms they regard as important, then a contract may not exist at all

  • Comment

    The lost clause

    2003-03-07T00:00:00Z

    I read Patrick Holmes' article "Words of warning" (17 January, page 50) on net contribution clauses and would like to point out two crucial facts that appear to have been overlooked in the article.

  • Comment

    When mediation is deviation

    2003-03-07T00:00:00Z

    Nick Henchie's recent article "Call their bluff" (21 February, page 58) brought into focus the commercial reality of being a defendant manoeuvred into following one of the Civil Procedure Rules protocols by a speculative and dilatory claimant.

  • Comment

    Pitfalls of adjudication

    2003-03-07T00:00:00Z

    A series of articles in Building – John Redmond's "Do the best you can" (8 November, page 55), Tony Bingham's "Keep it clean" and Nick Henchie's "Redmond's recipe for fudge" (both 6 December, pages 46-47) – caught my attention.

  • Comment

    A dangerous consensus

    2003-03-07T00:00:00Z

    The recent chatroom piece (24 January, page 48) gave a useful, if brief, commentary on some adjudication issues.

  • Comment

    Don't waste your time

    2003-03-07T00:00:00Z

    We read your latest article on Constructionline (21 February, page 12) and our heads sank a little lower into our shoulders – we have now registered with that "service" twice.

  • Comment

    If you want to blame someone …

    2003-03-07T00:00:00Z

    In response to the letter about graduate retention by universities (21 February, page 34), I feel that Mr Link was a little too quick to point the finger at universities for failing to keep students on their courses.

  • Comment

    A word in your ear

    2003-03-07T00:00:00Z

    The middle classes have been getting excited about site workers earning £55,000 – some have even talked about a career change. Truth is, they wouldn't survive the day …

  • Comment

    Discipline and publish

    2003-03-07T00:00:00Z

    Further to your article "Battle of Trafalgar" (21 February, page 22) I would like to emphasise an important aspect of the story that may have been overlooked.

  • Comment

    What rewarding times they were

    2003-03-07T00:00:00Z

    While I agree with some of the points made by Andy Link in his letter entitled "I know something you don't" (21 February, page 34), my experience of study at Nottingham Trent University appears to have been the complete opposite of his.

  • Comment

    A fine art

    2003-03-07T00:00:00Z

    The appellant, Yorkshire Sheeting, had been retained as a subcontractor by Totty Building Services to deal with the sheeting on the roof at commercial premises at Foss Island Road, York. The works contemplated included the replacement of the metal top sheets on the roof and replacement of existing roof lights. ...

  • Comment

    Are we having fun yet?

    2003-02-28T00:00:00Z

    Rude audiences, ruder speakers, potential punch-ups and other ingredients of the annual dinner provide the fodder for the first of our columns on industry events

  • Comment

    Easing the agony

    2003-02-28T00:00:00Z

    Last year's famous Delay and Disruption Protocol presents difficult and potentially painful problems for contract administrators. So what should they do?

  • Comment

    Blair vs Hussein

    2003-02-28T00:00:00Z

    A Mr Blair has accused a Mr Hussein of hiding arms. But who has the burden of proving their case? And to what standard? Think hard: you're on the tribunal

  • Comment

    Setting the record straight

    2003-02-28T00:00:00Z

    Contract clauses freeing you from the cost of an adjudicator's decision won't do you much good. But in two recent cases, a judge and a columnist got this wrong

  • Comment

    All or nothing at all

    2003-02-28T00:00:00Z

    'Entire agreement' clauses confine the rights of parties to those in the contract. Sounds simple, but what happens when the parties agree to eleventh-hour additions?