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24 Nov 2017Dispute ResolutionGoing it Alone There are times when, for one reason or another, a party to an adjudication decides that it is not going to participate in the proceedings or co-operate with the adjudicator.

19 Sep 2017Corporate AdvisoryRICS CPD Day Greater Manchester A.J Bell Stadium - 1 November 2017

18 Sep 2017Dispute ResolutionMusical Chairs - Cost Recovery in Adjudication When I was a child, not so long ago (no sniggering please), my favourite game was musical chairs. I loved waiting for the music to stop and then dashing for one of the vacant chairs. Oh, what fun we had. I never knew when the music would stop and which chair would be free. I never thought for one minute that I would still be playing a version of that game so far down the road into my professional career. What am I talking about? Well, what I am referring to is yet another twist in the “recovery of inter-party costs in adjudication” road.

22 Aug 2017Dispute ResolutionWhen sorry seems to be the hardest word It was Elton John that sang the words “…oh it seems to me that sorry seems to be the hardest word..” What a great song. I am pretty sure Mr John was singing about unrequited love rather than legal claims but I just couldn’t resist making the connection. Sorry about that.

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.