Latest Dispute Resolution News
11 Mar 2017Dispute ResolutionAdjudication Costs Recovery
When Sir Michael Latham issued his “Constructing the Team” report in 1994 and adjudication was first floated as an idea to resolve disputes quickly, efficiently and at low cost, he could never have foreseen that the process of resolving construction disputes by adjudication would evolve into the complex process that it is today.
2 Nov 2016Dispute ResolutionOptions for Directors in troubled times
They say that behind every successful business man or woman there will be at least one or more failures.
7 Mar 2011Dispute ResolutionDirectors beware - HMRC bares its teeth!
It is amazing how many insolvent businesses end up with significant unpaid VAT and PAYE arrears by the time Administrators are finally appointed...
3 Mar 2011Dispute ResolutionWhose dispute is it anyway?
I talk a lot with my fellow mediators. We share experiences, good and bad. Give each other tips, de-brief one another and generally trade war stories. So I know that it is not uncommon for mediators to have to deal with an aggressive party or representative
24 Feb 2011Dispute ResolutionAre you a blue or a red? - Dealing with concurrent delay
There are very few UK construction projects that start and finish on time. The majority are complex and have to rely on a successful interaction of a significant number of factors if completion is to be achieved by an agreed date. Many simply do not.
1 Nov 2010Dispute ResolutionAdjudication and Insolvent Companies
Click for a free download of Peter Vinden's paper addressing the impact of corporate insolvency on insolvent parties wishing to take advantage of rights laid down by The Housing Grants and Construction Regeneration Act 1996.
27 Oct 2010Dispute ResolutionChristmas Comes Early!
If you have ever purchased a new house it is highly likely that it came with a building warranty provided by the NHBC, Zurich or similar organisation. The Council of Mortgage Lenders makes clear that they are unwilling to lend money to fund the purchase of a new domestic home unless the homes come with such a warranty.
6 Sep 2010Dispute ResolutionPay when Paid and Insolvent Employers
"Pay when paid" clauses are supposed to be a concept of a bygone era. Main Contractors would seek to justify their inclusion in a sub-contract by arguing that it should not be the guarantor of payments that are due to pass from an Employer through to the Main Contractor before onward payment to its Sub-Contractors.
4 Jul 2010Dispute ResolutionGetting to Yes
"Getting to YES: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In" is a best-selling 1981 non-fiction book written by Roger Fisher and William L. Ury...
7 Jun 2010Dispute ResolutionA Sting in the Tale
It is very tempting for a party to a construction contract to seek to amend the clauses of a standard form of contract in order to shift the commercial balance of the agreement in its favour. Tolent Construction, who by the way is not alone, did just this in its amendments to the Construction Industry Council Model Adjudication Procedure which Tolent incorporated into its "non-standard" standard sub-contract (if you see what I mean) when it introduced the following amendments to clauses 28 and 29 of the CIC rules to read...
3 May 2010Dispute ResolutionAll that Glitters...
Although I'm reluctant to admit it, I have been advising Contractors and Sub-Contractors on buying insurance for over twenty five years. It is a frustrating business and, quite frankly, a thankless task. No wonder I feel so old!
1 Apr 2010Dispute ResolutionAdjudication and Multiple Disputes
The Scheme for Construction Contracts (England and Wales) Regulations 1998 makes clear that an Adjudicator can only deal with one dispute at any one time. Of course, it is open to the parties to agree differently but it is a rare occurrence when parties actually co-operate with each other, let alone the Adjudicator, in an adjudication.