The presentation and settlement of contractors' claims

The presentation and settlement of contractors’ claims
Geoffrey Trickey and Mark Hackett

£60
CBD Stock No: 1795

It lifted the lid on the "black art" of claims and was one of the first books to consider this difficult topic from the consultant's viewpoint. I found myself referring to it on many occasions.

The second edition has been a long time, 17 years, in gestation. During this time, cases involving court claims have clarified many points. Reports on the "ills" of the industry have included claims, and the government has passed several acts which affected claims. New standard forms of contract have appeared, and others have been amended.

This edition attempts to update a standard reference book to reflect the changes these events have produced. It has also been expanded to cover other forms of contract and includes new sections on the JCT management contract (1998), GC/works/1 with quantities (1998) and the engineering and construction contract (NEC).

The form of the previous edition is followed, with most attention being given to the JCT98 private with quantities edition and the other contracts and sub-contracts in the JCT family. The clauses in JCT98 which give rise to claims and the clauses dealing with the calculation of claims are dealt with in detail. The aim of the book is to encourage a systematic approach to claims, and to this end the authors assign a number to each contract paragraph. This enables cross-referencing, which helps to clarify how clauses impact one another.

The chapter on extensions of time is very well presented, with examples that are clarified by flow charts. There is again in this edition a worked example of the ascertainment of direct loss and/or expense which would be very useful for students and practitioners dealing with a claim for the first time.

In spite of the improvements in this edition, I do not feel it will have the impact of its predecessor. It suffers the same fate as many updated standard texts – circumstances have changed since the original was written. In the post-Latham era, the industry is moving away from the adversarial relationships which generated disputes and claims. This edition recognises some of the changes, including the pre-agreement of the total cost and effects of variations. The parts of the book dealing with the changes incorporated into most of the standard forms for the submission of quotations from contractors for variations are very well written.

The authors admit to their prejudices, including their rejection of the view that the previous editions of the standard contract encouraged adversarial attitudes. I think if the book had been retitled "variations and claims" it would continue to be a well-recognised standard text; but with the previous title and emphasis maintained there is a risk of it being overlooked, which would be a pity.