Opinion – Page 640
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Stretching a point
The courts are straining the meaning of the Construction Act so that parties without a contract can benefit from adjudication. But what's really needed is revision
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Another fine mess
How far does a contractor's liability go for any design work that it does? The answer is, as far as the parties let it – each standard form defines it differently
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Feeding the parasites
Egan was meant to get parasitic surveyors, architects and consultants off the builder's back. Now his Strategic Forum is effecting their return
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Big top for tall towers
The City may fear that it stands to lose out to other areas of London, but its insecurities should not be allowed to dictate London's policy on tall buildings
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Counter-intelligence
If you're unlucky enough to be on the wrong end of an adjudicator's award and the winner owes you money, can you take that off the amount due?
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Stopping the dominos
After 10 years of calm, the collapse of Enron has brought the risks of insolvency back into the spotlight. So how can contractors protect themselves?
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Don't count on it
Where there is no contract between a claimant and an adviser, the court may be wary of imposing a duty of care, making it hard for a claim for poor advice to succeed
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The day of the mediator
Adjudication, for all its merits, isn't much cop for multiparty disputes. In these cases, we should restrain our scepticism and plump for mediation
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Getting your kits off
How Airfix bombers and glue abuse are connected to plastic surgery, the moveable-type revolution, and the way CAD vandalises a child's mind …
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My word against yours …
Remember the Discain vs Opecprime cause célèbre? Well, it's just been decided in court, and the trial offers an invaluable lesson on how the law really works
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It's a fair ACOP
The HSE has brought out a more comprehensive Approved Code of Practice for site safety. It's better than the previous version and you should get hold of it now
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And that’s final
If you get into a dispute abroad, it will probably go to arbitration. All well and good, but be warned: if you lose, you’ll have trouble appealing …
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Questions of life and death
The Home Office is busy working on a new corporate killing law that will dramatically up the stakes on safety. It's vital that they get it right
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Delayed gratification
Concurrent delays and extensions of time can be a tricky issue for everyone. So why are they dodged by standard forms when two changes would sort them out?
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Transcendental mediation
An 'adjudimed' is an adjudicator with knobs on, someone who will use mediation methods to get the parties to rise above the dispute and resolve it for themselves
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To D&B or not to D&B?
The Arts Council persists in using construction management as its preferred procurement route for theatre projects despite its time and cost uncertainties. Why?