Legal views 鈥� Page 107
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CommentStory time is over
It鈥檚 time to stop the lying in adjudication and arbitration. Let鈥檚 attach a 鈥榮tatement of truth鈥� to referral or response papers, and make clients and lawyers sign it
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Before you sign 鈥�
Ideally lawyers will go through a contract with a fine-tooth comb, but if you only have a couple of hours to check it yourself, here are the key points to watch for
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Smile, you鈥檙e on camera
Delay and disruption disputes are horrendously complicated, but there is a practical way to back up your claim 鈥� take regular photographs of the works from day one
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CommentBattle tactics
For subcontractors the day when crippling paid-if-paid clauses are outlawed cannot come too soon, but in the meantime here鈥檚 how to launch an effective counter-attack
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CommentA family affair
The man who defrauded the Millennium Dome of 拢4m has just been sent down, but suspicions were first aroused in a little-known adjudication case back in 2001
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CommentWar of the words
A letter of intent is meant to be a stop-gap before the contract kicks in, but all too often it sparks a dispute 鈥� in this case over the words 鈥榣oss and expense鈥�
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A tragedy, not a crime
The Hatfield defendants were innocent, and would have been under a reformed law. If you want a villain in this piece, look at past and present governments
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Spoilt for choice
At last we have a contract that caters for third-party rights, but this extra option in the new JCT design-and-build contract could pose a problem
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CommentA happy compromise
A trial before a judge or arbitrator is one thing; negotiations facilitated by a mediator is a horse of a different colour. So what would happen if we crossed them?
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CommentAll too human
Arbitrators, adjudicators, even judges, all have unconscious bias. You can鈥檛 change that 鈥� but you can make sure that you don鈥檛 help them to direct it against you
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How to haggle
At last, premiums for professional indemnity insurance have started to fall, so now is the time to find a broker and shop around for a better deal
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CommentOffensive manoeuvres
A decision reached by an adjudicator can be overturned in court, one reached by an arbitrator cannot 鈥� unless the claimant establishes that he is incompetent
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CommentMy slip, your fall
The NEC Third Edition has been hailed as a friendly partnering contract, but one particular clause seems to tip the balance against contractors
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CommentA wardance
The ordinary way that contracts are entered into provides a natural breeding ground for disputes, as vividly demonstrated by this recent Appeal Court case
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CommentIt鈥檚 鈥� Robo-adjudicator!
Dispute resolution is no job for have-a-go amateurs. So five chartered bodies have teamed up to turn adjudicators into contract law enforcement machines
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CommentFractal law
As with the coastline of England or the Mandlebrot Set, the closer you look at standard forms of contract, the more complexity you find. Take this example 鈥�
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CommentThe death penalty
In its next session, parliament will decide if the Corporate Manslaughter Bill becomes law. Some of its proposals should be amended before that happens 鈥�
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CommentA six-year stretch
By the time that Henry Boot vs Alstom reached the Court of Appeal, 拢60m was hanging on the definition of when the clock starts ticking on the six-year rule 鈥�
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CommentGo ask Alice
How can you miss a deadline if you鈥檙e a day early? Very easily, if you鈥檙e in the Wonderland world of the law, where words mean just what the contract says they do
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CommentWhose side are you on?
It鈥檚 taken 20 years to decide whether the project manager under the NEC contract has a duty to be unbiased. Now, thanks to Mr Justice Jackson, we know