Everyone likes pie of some sort, especially around the holidays. For those working in the construction industry, the rapidly developing energy sector appears to be an ever-expanding “Job Pie” for contractors designing, managing, supplying, engineering, clearing and erecting projects for participants in the energy sector. For clues on how to follow the pie crumbs to real construction jobs, I turned to Melvin Stroble of Black & Veatch. Here is a slice of the information Mr ...
The JCT Constructing Excellence Contract 2006 is seen as a radical departure from the JCT's more "traditional" building contracts. However, will it be used used by developers in the private and public sectors? Many of the more "traditional" forms of contract (JCT and ICE in particular) were perceived to encourage an adversarial approach ...
Earlier this month the European Commission closed an investigation into a development in the German City of Flensburg. On the facts which the Commission eventually established it decided to close its file and take no further action, but it is the background which is interesting and provides a pointer to what best practice should be – particularly now that the Public Contracts Regulations 2006 have been in force for a number of years ...
What is a JCT contract? A JCT contract is a standard form of building contract produced by a UK body known as the Joint Contracts Tribunal. The JCT is comprised of seven members who represent a wide range of interests in the building sector from contractors, architects, and surveyors. The documents produced by the JCT are intended to standardise construction contracts with a view to reducing the time taken to negotiate the documentation ...
The Office of Fair Trading has written to a number of undisclosed companies in the construction industry, in relation to its ongoing investigation into a suspected multi-billion pound bid rigging cartel. It is offering the "late comers" a last chance to mitigate the potential fines which might be ascending upon them in the biggest cartel investigation in UK history ...
This two-part webinar series explores the top construction court cases from 2018, to provide an understanding of the key developments in construction law and adjudication practiceand how these might affect your construction projects and disputes in 2019. 1. S&T (UK) Limited v Grove Developments [2018] EWCA Civ 2448 Grove employed S&T to design and build a new hotel at Heathrow Airport under a JCT Design and Build Contract ...
This two-part series explores the top construction court cases of2018, providingan understanding of the key developments in construction law and adjudication practiceand how these might affect your construction projects and disputes in 2019. Read or watch the first in the series below: the top five construction cases of2018. 1 ...
In promoting a collaborative partnership in the delivery of public works projects, the Hong Kong Government has adopted the “New Engineering Contract” (NEC), which aims at improving construction efficiency and effectiveness in the use of public funds. Since its first publication in the UK in 1993, the NEC contract has become increasingly popular in the UK, Australia, South Africa, Hong Kong and New Zealand ...
For those of us who commonly represent lenders, there is nothing more unsettling than hearing the words “course and pattern of conduct” or “dominion and control” or some variation of the same. Any suit where someone seeks to impose liability on a bank for something above and beyond the amounts loaned and repaid is a scary one for lenders (and ultimately should be a scary one for anyone who may need to borrow money in the future) ...
Construction continues to be one of the deadliest industries in the United States, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) is heavily targeting construction workplaces. In 2022, OSHA inspected construction workplaces more than any other industry, and OSHA’s focus on construction employers is expected to continue this year ...
The current coronavirus crisis has created unprecedented challenges for those in the construction industry. While many states have exempted construction activities from their shelter-in-place or stay-at-home orders, projects have nonetheless been impacted and cash flow from owners or contractors may slow or halt. As a result, contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers must be vigilant to protect their ability to receive payment on projects where cash flow might become problematic ...
This is a briefing on the CIAC Memorandum Circular No. 01-2020 dated June 10, 2020,1 a COVID-19 related issuance. A. Authority to Hold Virtual Proceedings B. No Change in the Deadline for the Issuance of Final Awards C. In-Person Proceedings D. Conduct of Virtual Proceedings ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ CIAC’s Memorandum Circular No ...
Construction law is NOT boring, at least that’s what I tell my daughters. In these series of posts, I will explore some of the VERY interesting historical facts about construction law that can be used at your next motion hearing, family gathering, social event or fellow lawyer meeting. While these anecdotes may not keep your kids or significant others from rolling their eyes, hopefully they can provide a small respite from your (yes, I admit) sometimes boring life in construction law ...
Recently, the Supreme Court of Virginia issued two decisions which have some potentially far-reaching implications for construction and development contracts. First, the Supreme Court issued an opinion in Uniwest Construction, Inc. v. Amtech Elevator Services, Inc.,280 Va. 428, 699 S.E.2d 223 (2010), which involved several issues regarding the scope and effect of certain indemnification provisions typically seen in development and/or construction contracts ...
Some things change, others never change. The choice of procurement route is still governed by three main factors:· Time· Cost· Quality It is hard, if not impossible to achieve the best of all these three but when choosing a procurement route consideration must be given to the list of priorities so that people's expectations are properly managed ...
On March 19, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom and the Director of the California Department of Public Health ordered all Californians to stay home, “except as needed to maintain continuity of operations of the federal critical infrastructure sectors.” The order provides that the State Public Health Officer “[m]ay designate additional sectors as critical in order to protect the health and well-being of all Californians ...
As if employers and contractors needed reminding, two recent decisions emphasise the importance of having a contract in place as soon as possible, and the dangers of starting work on a letter of intent ...
Product liability insurance is often offered as an alternative to professional indemnity insurance by sub-contractors but is it really an alternative? The two forms of insurance have some fundamental differences. Professional indemnity insurance covers claims arising out of the professional activities of design consultants, sub-contractors or the contractor ...
Throughout the industry press, the topic of conversation at networking breakfasts, you can’t escape the doom and gloom of the global credit crunch. But what does this really mean for the industry? First and foremost, it means that risk will increase. There is more chance of a party experiencing cash flow difficulties, or even going bust. There will be less work around, resulting in keener prices and greater competition ...
In the decision in 9058-4004 Québec inc. c. 9337-9907 Québec inc.1 rendered on October 21, 2022, the court granted compensation to a subcontractor for its extrajudicial fees further to a general contractor?s unfounded contestation of its claim as part of a hypothecary action. The facts In May 2019, Portes de garage Citadelle Ltée (?Citadelle?) and general contractor 9337-9907 Québec inc ...
The risks to employers of proceeding with construction works whilst relying solely on letters of intent are nothing new. The risks to employers of proceeding with constructions works whilst relying solely on letters of intent are nothing new ...
Earlier this year, the government released a proposal paper: Extending Unfair Contract Terms Protections to Insurance Contracts outlining a model to extend unfair contract term (UCT) provisions to insurance contracts regulated under the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) (IC Act) for consultation. The consultation period closes on 27 July. A high level summary of the proposed model is below ...
The government is consulting on a proposal to introduce a new UK-wide tax for residential property developers from 2022, with a view to generating revenue to cover the costs associated with the removal of unsafe cladding. The measure is intended to generate at least £2 billion over the course of a decade, which the government says is a “fair contribution” to the overall cost of the remediation programme ...
It behooves construction professionals, be they materials manufacturers, general contractors, or lower-tier subcontractors, to carry some form of commercial general liability insurance (“CGL Insurance”). Having such coverage alleviates some of the potential risk and financial exposure a construction professional carries on a particular project. That is, of course, unless the construction professional gets sued and the insurer refuses to pay ...
No one can escape the basic rules of contracting, even the federal government. If the contract is clear and unambiguous, then the four corners of the agreement set the rules for the project and the parties – and there’s not much room for interpretation. The government was recently reminded of this cold, hard truth after it refused to grant a contractor an equitable adjustment of the contract price for purchasing wetland mitigation credits. In Kiewit Infrastructure W. Co. v ...
