Rachel Barnes

  • Rachel Barnes
    Comment

    Claims under collateral warranties

    2013-09-23T06:00:00

    In her final column for Building, Rachel Barnes looks at a case that sheds some light on the thorny question of whether a claim under a collateral warranty can be referred to adjudication

  • rachel barnes
    Comment

    Repudiatory breach of contract: Once more unto the breach

    2013-06-03T09:52:00

    A repudiatory breach by the other side allows you to terminate a contract. But you will need to be sure it is such a breach if you don’t want the courts to put you right

  • rachel barnes
    Comment

    O ye of little faith

    2013-04-05T00:00:00

    A recent Court of Appeal case confirms the traditional English hostility to a general doctrine of good faith in the performance of contracts

  • rachel barnes
    Comment

    Delays: A likely story

    2013-02-22T06:00:00

    Deciding whether a party causing a delay was responsible for the fall in the market value of a property boiled down to whether that loss was ‘not unlikely’

  • rachel barnes
    Comment

    Limited liability: Even limits have their limits

    2012-11-16T00:00:00

    Contract terms that seek to limit liability have to be able to pass a test of reasonableness – and not only where they are part of standard terms

  • rachel barnes
    Comment

    Once more unto the breach

    2012-10-05T00:00:00

    When does a delay to a project become sufficiently serious to incur a repudiatory breach, allowing the contract to be terminated?

  • rachel barnes
    Comment

    The duty to warn

    2012-07-13T00:00:00

    If a dentist treating one tooth notices that another is rotten, he has a professional duty to tell the patient. Unfortunately, the duty to warn isn’t always so straightforward

  • Rachel Barnes 2012
    Comment

    Causes and loss: Pegasus vs Ernst & Young

    2012-04-27T00:00:00

    A case against Ernst & Young sheds fresh light on an old chestnut - whether the new owner of transferred assets can sue for its predecessor’s alleged losses

  • Rachel Barnes
    Comment

    Knowing when time limits for legal action start

    2012-03-02T00:00:00

    There are time limits for commencing legal actions but the really tricky part is knowing at what point the clock starts

  • justicia
    Comment

    The Construction Act: Changes to consultants' payment processes

    2011-11-11T00:00:00

    Consultants’ payment processes are traditionally very different to those of contractors. So how have they changed in the standard contracts since the new Construction Act?

  • Rachel Barnes
    Comment

    Part 36 offers: It's all in the timing

    2011-09-16T00:00:00

    Part 36 offers are made by a party as a way of settling a dispute. But if you’re planning to use one, be aware that they are not time-limited and apply until they are withdrawn

  • Comment

    Safety obligations: Common law liability

    2011-06-17T00:00:00

    In a case concerning hearing loss among employees, the Supreme Court has come down in favour of a common law approach to safety, rather than stricter statutory law

  • Rachel Barnes
    Comment

    It’ll all come out in the wash

    2011-05-20T00:00:00

    Ever since the Proceeds of Crime Act came into effect, construction has feared unwittingly getting caught up in money laundering. But recent cases should make us worry less

  • Rachel Barnes
    Comment

    Robinson vs PE Jones: Duty in tort

    2011-02-11T00:00:00

    A quirk in the law of limitation means a claim for economic loss under a contract has a different time limit from the same claim brought in tort

  • Rachel Barnes
    Comment

    Outstanding novation

    2010-12-01T17:01:00

    Rachel Barnes If no formal novation agreement exists between a contractor and a consultant but they act as if there was, a court may accept that the intention was to create an appointment

  • Rachel Barnes
    Comment

    RIBA conditions of appointment: A return to a simpler time

    2010-08-13T00:00:00

    The RIBA’s latest conditions of appointment aren’t perfect, but they’ve swept away many of the onerous obligations in the 2007 edition

  • Comment

    Contracts in writing

    2010-06-04T00:00:00

    Until now, a contract has had to be in writing for a dispute to be referred for adjudication…

  • Rachel Barnes
    Comment

    CML certificate: But you said it was fine!

    2010-03-26T00:00:00

    In April 2007 the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) produced a standard form certificate that consultants can be asked to sign concerning the condition of a newly built residential property

  • Rachel Barnes
    Comment

    ACE agreements: Altogether now

    2009-12-04T00:00:00

    The recent streamlining of the two design agreements for consultants into one brings simplicity and flexibility as well as a new take on liability

  • Rachel Barnes
    Comment

    Take the fifth: Liability for design mistakes

    2009-09-25T00:00:00

    If you’re an architect, and you suddenly realise that you’ve made a mistake, do you have a duty to tell your client about it? Well, that all depends

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