All articles by Rachel Barnes – Page 4
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You're on your own
Two recent decisions in the House of Lords have made the scope for claiming contribution from other negligent parties much narrower than was thought
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Questions of identity
Are you thinking of turning your firm into a limited liability partnership? If so, you should be aware that the transition involves some fundamental changes …
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Joint roasting
Be wary of situations that may give rise to joint liability in due diligence work. If the other party can't pay its part, you could be landed with the whole lot
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What lies beneath
The notoriously difficult subject of contaminated land just got even trickier. New legislation has come into force, and you may find its effect rather surprising
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Only yourself to blame
Contractors rushing to avoid the problems Carillion experienced in the Blyth & Blyth case take note: pinning more liability on consultants won't work
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Corrupt practices
As the use of electronic document storage and transfer increases, the risk of corruption grows, and professionals are advised to have an effective back-up system.
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What's mine is yours
Directors and partners should be quick to sort out who owns intellectual property rights – or they risk finding that the firm's interests outweigh their claims
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Not entirely acceptable
Rachel Barnes - Consultants asked to agree to "entire agreement clauses" in their terms of appointment should be careful: they could find that they're losing fundamental remedies
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Stand up for their rights
Consultants can fall foul of the Human Rights Act if they are deemed to have contravened one of its provisions while acting for a local authority or other public body. So it makes sense to watch your back.
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Too much obliged
Design and build often forces contractors to rely more on their consultants than they would under a traditional contract. This means that if they take a hit, they're more likely to ask their consultants to share it.
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Contracting in cyberspace
Although contracts transacted over the Internet are no different from traditional ones, you should take precautions to avoid potential disputes over when and where an e-contract was formed.
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Where the buck stops now
A recent Court of Appeal decision seemed to relieve designers of a great deal of responsibility for safety. The HSE responded by changing the regulations to reimpose that duty. What do the new rules say?
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What’s the worry?
Consultants should be aware of the ways the third-party rights act may extend their liabilities. Unfortunately, it s difficult to say just what those ways are but here s a brief guide to what to look out for.
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The consultants' catch-22
Consultants must take care over the wording and timing of certificates and letters to their clients or they could find themselves in a double-bind and vulnerable to an action for negligent misstatement.
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Without a safety net
If you don't write a net contribution clause into your contract, you may find yourself paying all the damages for a breach that others are also responsible for. And it's not just insolvency that can land you in it …
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A matter of faith
A duty of good faith is increasingly being expressed or implied in consultants' contracts and could affect all aspects of their appointment but what exactly does it entail?
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Get your retaliation in first
Beale and Company s experience of adjudication is that it is working well, particularly for consultants. It also indicates that there are important tactical points to bear in mind before you present your case.
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Just the limit
How effective are clauses that limit a consultant s liability to less than his or her total insurance cover? Until now this has been a grey area, but a recent decision has cast some light on how the courts will assess them.
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New whines for old
Rules for civil litigation have been completely rewritten and yet it seems unlikely that they will do much to reduce the cost of claims against consultants or, indeed, that proceedings will be so different.
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Got it covered?
The insurance market's approach to claims that may arise out of year 2000 and date recognition problems in computer systems will have implications for those renewing their professional indemnity insurance.
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