All articles by Robert Akenhead – Page 2

  • Robert Akenhead
    Comment

    Come closer, my dears …

    2005-01-07T00:00:00Z

    Want to know the future? Then cross our very own legal astrologer’s palm with silver as he gazes into his crystal ball and makes his predictions for 2005

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    Blind eyes and bloody kids

    2004-11-05T00:00:00Z

    Contractors have to be on their guard against potential defects or dangers even though they aren’t covered in the contract – as these cases illustrate

  • Robert Akenhead
    Comment

    Down to brass tacks

    2004-09-17T00:00:00Z

    Everybody knows court cases are horribly expensive, but then so are ‘cheaper’ methods such as adjudication and mediation. So here’s a way to save money

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    Lawyers, guns and money

    2004-07-09T00:00:00Z

    No matter how strange foreign cultures may be, almost all are governed by the same legal principles as English law – which is good news for us all

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    The big picture

    2004-04-30T00:00:00Z

    If you’ll indulge us for a moment, we’ll tell you a little bit about the legal system as seen by a legal journalist – and it’s a huge and complex thing

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    Exceptions rule

    2004-02-20T00:00:00Z

    No, no, of course insurers don't try anything to avoid paying out on an all-risks policy. Still, just to be sure, apply a magnifying glass to that small print …

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    Suing the sewers

    2004-01-16T00:00:00Z

    If overflowing sewers are driving you round the U-bend, don't hold out any hope of compensation from the water company – just get yourself a good mop

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    Beware of the bats

    2003-11-21T00:00:00Z

    Two recent cases in the Court of Appeal illustrate how tortuous and legalised the planning process has become – especially when animals are involved

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    Wily words

    2003-08-15T00:00:00Z

    Simply because a warranty assigns you a few rights doesn't mean that a couple of courts won't be needed to work out if you can enforce them

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    If it walks like a duck …

    2003-06-27T00:00:00Z

    … and it talks like a duck and it looks like a duck (etc) then it probably is a duck. The same principle applies to contracts. Let me explain

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    That old chestnut

    2003-04-25T00:00:00Z

    Oh, did we promise to pay you if your employer went bankrupt? Well, we're terribly sorry, but this statute passed in 1677 says we don't have to

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    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

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    Hazarding an opinion

    2003-01-10T00:00:00Z

    Sometimes it makes sense for disputing parties to agree a joint expert. That's all very well until the expert says something one side disagrees with …

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    Unconscionable temerity

    2002-10-11T00:00:00Z

    Law and practice on contractors' bonds is tilted in favour of the employers who call on them – which they do, often without good cause. Time for a change

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    What's the damage?

    2002-08-09T00:00:00Z

    Assessing what damages are owed on a QS's negligent cost underestimation can be tricky enough to warrant getting the calculator out …

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    Time, gentlemen, please

    2002-06-14T00:00:00Z

    The new rules on limitation periods still have a loophole that means contractors could be liable – almost indefinitely – for their employees' mistakes

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    The claimant strikes back

    2002-04-26T00:00:00Z

    A judge may not like it when a party fails to comply with a court order, but they should think twice before striking out the claim altogether

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    In it up to their necks

    2002-03-15T00:00:00Z

    Water companies have largely escaped liability where sewers have caused repeated flooding but from now they'll have to fix the problem or pay up

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    And that’s final

    2002-01-25T00:00:00Z

    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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    Getting out of a hole

    2001-07-20T00:00:00Z

    A contractor that damages cables or pipes while digging up the road must pay for repairs – but what other costs might it face?