All articles by Tony Bingham – Page 13
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CommentRead them and weep
Letters of intent are often used inappropriately in the construction industry and, as such, they should be employed with a good deal of caution – or not at all
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CommentCertifiable adjudicators
Like the umpires in last month’s ill-fated test match, adjudicators test the dispute against the rules and make a judgment – unfortunately some construction folk, and one or two lawyers, haven’t quite grasped that they can’t tamper with the ball either …
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CommentCertifiable adjudicators
Like the umpires in last month’s ill-fated test match, adjudicators test the dispute against the rules and make a judgment – unfortunately some construction folk, and one or two lawyers, haven’t quite grasped that they can’t tamper with the ball either …
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CommentDont touch that dial
It’s tough being an arbitrator. You’re expected to have expert skills in your field and be able to shoulder a weighty judicial burden. And one wrong move, such as making a simple phone call, will get you thrown off the job …
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CommentThe way the money goes
The insistence that a contract be ‘in writing’ before it can be adjudicated is transferring millions of pounds from one industry to another. Guess which ones they are …
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CommentThe pitfalls of DIY
Hanging the odd picture up is one thing, but once you’re into serious DIY you’re bound by the same standards as a professional builder. So if something bad happens on your property, you can end up paying damages, costs and even other defendants’ costs. Nasty
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CommentBlood on the tracks
Last year the criminal court fined Balfour Beatty £10m after it pleaded guilty to its part in the Hatfield rail disaster. Then last month the Court of Appeal lopped £2.5m off the penalty. Here’s why …
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NewsDutch courage
Why don't people wear hard hats in Rotterdam? Building's legal expert is not sure and despite his better sense he soon finds he's going Dutch himself
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CommentThe killer blow
The slide of Botes Building into administration has been widely reported. What isn’t so well known is that in the run up it was involved in a £300k legal battle with one of its clients …
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CommentJust call me Rambo
When did mediation get taken over by tree-huggers who refuse to discuss the merits of the case? Well, no more. If it stops daft cases ending up in court, then mediators should be free to take a more aggressive approach
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CommentThe perils of using your initiative
Imagine you’re a builder carrying out a small domestic project, and you spot a mistake in the architect’s design. Would you save everyone’s time and trouble by working out an ad hoc solution to it?
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CommentTrump that!
Everyone knows that a final certificate trumps an interim one – that’s the way a client ensures it pays the correct sum. But when an adjudicator is parachuted in to decide the interim account, that situation is reversed – as Camden council was surprised to discover
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CommentStop right there
The Wembley judgment contains all the rough and tumble we expect from a good old construction dust-up, and some pertinent lessons for the 2012 Olympics organisers
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NewsOn the move without a mobile
Building's star columnist is on a train to Cardiff to give a legal lecture, but damn, he's left his mobile behind. Thankfully a kindly trolley lady stepped in and saved the day.
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CommentThe correct use of courts
The legal system would work a lot better if it were used as a last chance to settle disputes, rather than a blunt instrument to beat, baffle and bore one's enemy into submission
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CommentVolunteers? You and you
The English court system has got into the habit of frogmarching would-be litigants to mediation, and this is damaging the reputation of the judges and mediators
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CommentYou'll do …
The subbie that designed and built some duff football pitches in Scotland wisely went out of business before it could be sued. But what about the architect?
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CommentAn American ambush
The Americans call it sandbagging, we call it ambushing but either way it's an annoying and counterproductive way of trying to straighten out a problem
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CommentThe quiet Americans
The Americans are in Hungary to spread the good news about dispute resolution boards. But their approach is no match for the power of adjudication …
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CommentStop right there
Imagine a world where it's possible to spot disputes before they happen. Impossible? Not if you believe in FIDIC's new superhuman dispute boards