Latest Dispute Resolution News
17 Aug 2017Dispute ResolutionLove thy Neighbour... just don't give him any Free Advice
My wife absolutely loves offering my services as a matchmaker, job finder and building consultant to her many friends and colleagues and yes, you've guessed it, I don't get paid for any of these favours. Now I think it is fairly clear that when I succumb to my wife's promises and I find myself looking at a wonky wall, badly plastered ceiling or dodgy extension I am not entering into a contract with these people but the current Mrs Vinden (there will be only the one, I hope) might be surprised to learn that I could still be sued if I cock up in the granting of the requested favour. Why is this?
27 Jul 2017Dispute ResolutionAdjudicating Two Disputes at the Same Time, Unintended Consequences
Paragraph 8(1) of The Scheme for Construction Contracts (England Wales) Regulations 1998 as amended by The Scheme for Construction Contracts (England Wales) Regulations 1998 (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2011 (“the Scheme”) says; “The adjudicator may, with the consent of all the parties to those disputes, adjudicate at the same time on more than one dispute under the same contract”. But what exactly does this mean?
4 Jul 2017Dispute ResolutionDo It Yourself (DIY) Adjudication Update
Many years ago, I wrote an article on do-it-yourself adjudication. The article suggested that as a result of developments in adjudication law, practice and procedure, any party choosing to run an adjudication without professional assistance might be described as brave, foolhardy or both.
23 Jun 2017Dispute ResolutionAttempting to Defeat a Smash and Grab Adjudicator's Decision
It appears that I am not the only decision maker troubled by the increasing volume of so-called Smash and Grab adjudications.
14 Jun 2017Dispute ResolutionAdjudication and Oral Contracts
It is now well known that an adjudicator has jurisdiction to deal with disputes that arise under oral construction contracts for construction operations as defined in the Housing, Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 and amended by the Local Democracy, Economic Development & Construction Act 2009.
5 Jun 2017Dispute ResolutionA Hitchhiker's Guide to Mediation
Search the web for long enough and you will be sure to find many scholarly articles and books on the subject of mediation. So why produce another one?
28 May 2017Dispute ResolutionDirectors - Trouble Ahead - What Are Your Options
They say that behind every successful business man or woman there will be at least one or more failures. I could at this point trot out a list of high profile names, known to us all, who have a list of failed companies behind them but that is not the subject of this paper, so let’s move on.
21 May 2017Dispute ResolutionOpening the Door to Recovery of Inter-Party Costs in Adjudication
Some time ago I wrote two articles on the various ways in which a party could recover its costs in adjudication.
18 May 2017Dispute ResolutionSettlement Agreements and Adjudication
Disputes are a fact of everyday life in the construction industry. Parties can manage to fall out over anything from the value of a particular variation to the quality of completed work or the value of an interim valuation and so the list goes on and on.
11 May 2017Dispute ResolutionKeep It Simple Stupid - KISS
Construction is a complicated process, so misunderstood and underestimated by the glitzy programmes we see splashed all over our TV sets to keep us entertained on a cold winter's evening.
3 May 2017Dispute ResolutionThe Evaluative Mediator - Enter Stage Left
I am currently involved in a large mediation which I am struggling to settle. It isn't a complete train wreck. A gap of over £10 million has been reduced to less than £500K and the Parties are still talking to each other and otherwise exploring options to avoid spending the equivalent of the GDP of a small African country to litigate the dispute; so we will see.
27 Apr 2017Dispute ResolutionWhen No Doesn't Always Mean No
It is far from unusual for construction contracts to require instructions that are intended to vary the works by increasing or changing scope to be put in writing before an Employer is then obliged to pay for the work done under that instruction.
