All articles by Tony Bingham – Page 6
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CommentAdjudication: Instant justice
As we all know, an adjudicator’s decision is binding until a final decision is made by a court or arbitrator, no matter how wrong it is. But that ‘final decision’ can be made very quickly
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CommentMilking it: Safeway and the OFT
When Safeway was fined by the OFT, it tried to claim its money back from the employees it thought had caused the problems. Might construction companies follow suit?
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CommentThe revenge of Judy Veakins
A company’s liability for harassment or bullying by one of its managers was brought to attention by a recent case. Tony Bingham sums up the facts …
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CommentA cock and ball story
Tony Bingham If your little mistake turns out to be a massive mistake because of my little mistake, can you be made to pay the whole of the bill? Over to the Court of Appeal …
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CommentGoing the distance: Relevant information
Here’s a tale of two sisters who got into a row with their builder, followed by five adjudications and a court case that established some useful case law
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CommentGet lost, creep: Adjudication
A dispute is never just about the thing that it’s about. All kinds of interlopers try to get in on the action, and it can make adjudication impossible. As the following case shows …
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CommentThe Scottish enlightenment: Expert determination vs arbitration
What’s the difference between expert determination and arbitration? Is there a difference? Yes there is, and a Caledonian court spelled it out
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CommentJoint expert witnesses: Clandestine communications
There are some grey areas to being a joint expert witness, but one thing is clear: talking to one party without the other’s knowledge is not on
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CommentDon’t get your suspenders in a twist
The Construction Act says it is lawful to down tools if you haven’t been paid what you’re owed. But what happens if you get it wrong and the money isn’t owed?
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CommentPayment rules: Financial mechanics
The new Construction Act may be but a distant prospect, but that doesn’t mean we can’t make a few educated guesses as to how its payment rules will work
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CommentA contractor's survival guide
How many times have you read about contractors losing money, or going bust, as the result of a few ‘problem contracts’? So shouldn’t they do more to plan for them?
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CommentDispute over loft extension: Just how annoyed am I?
When the Court of Appeal pondered the case of a spoilt view, the judges had to imagine themselves as ordinary, sensible members of the public and ask one simple question...
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CommentAdjucation enforcement: When to use the f-word
It’s easy to bandy about the word ‘fraud’ in the hope of defeating enforcement in civil proceedings, but you’d better make sure you have sufficient evidence to back it up
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CommentIn banks we trust: Project bank accounts
One reason disputes turn nasty is that the payee suspects that the payer is coming up with spurious excuses not to pay. Luckily, there’s something we can do about this
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CommentContracts: Are you a cavalier or a roundhead?
You can have all the collaboration and co-operation you like in this industry of ours, but fundamentally the Roundheads are right: it’s all about the contract …
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CommentDubai disputes: Arbitrary judgment
Now that the only thing booming in Dubai is disputes, queues are forming outside arbitrators’ doors. But arbitration in the UAE has to be speeded up. Here’s how …
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CommentAdjudication awards: Logical deductions
If a party loses an adjudication and is ordered to pay up, can it set this sum off against anything it thinks it is owed from a subsequent adjudication award?
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OFT special: The cost of a phone call
If you don’t want the job, just ask for too much money and you won’t get it. Nobody can touch you. Phone a friend for a cover price, though, and you’re liable for millions
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CommentJCT homeowner contract: Get the picture?
The JCT’s contract for home extenders is a very useful document, not least because it turns a lot of those complicated words into drawings we can all understand
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CommentSo crazy it might be true
We’re so conditioned to looking at the world in a particular way we stop thinking about it. But what if it is, in fact, quite wrong? And what could prompt us to realise it is?