Tell us what you think

Please complete our short readership survey. It won't take longer than a minute and will help us to continually improve Foundations. As a thank you, we will be giving a case of wine to one of our readers.

Respond here

Welcome to Foundations, our construction and engineering monthly newsletter. Foundations will update you with details of what we think are the top three court cases decided in the previous month, a summary of important legislation changes or proposals, and a paper providing insight and guidance on a particular area of construction law and practice in the UK (UK insight) and internationally (International Insight). We hope you find our newsletter useful and informative.

10 things you need to know about expert evidence

The requirement for expert evidence is almost taken for granted in construction and engineering disputes.  It is assumed that the technical nature of the issues will be sufficiently complex that the court will need specialist input to understand them, and that such input will be required in relation to a number of different disciplines/technical issues...

Read the full article

Is good faith wording the answer to the adversarial nature of the UK construction industry?

In 1998, Sir John Egan wrote: “A successful construction industry is essential to us all...At its best the UK construction industry displays excellence.  But, there is no doubt that substantial improvements in quality and efficiency are possible.”

However, it remains unsurprising for headlines such as “Disputes rife between clients and main contractors” to appear.   The number of cases before the TCC since 2010, both in London and the regions, shows a sustained high workload, and the number of adjudications and alternative dispute resolution methods employed also remain at a high level...

Read the full article

J Murphy & Sons Ltd v Beckton Energy Ltd [2016] EWHC 607 (TCC)

The Technology and Construction Court refuses a declaration that a Contractor is not obliged to pay Liquidated Damages until a determination by an Engineer under any clause of the contract.

Read the full article

Narandas-Girdhar v Bradstock [2016] EWCA Civ 88 

The Court of Appeal has approved the test to be applied when determining if deleted words in an agreement can be admissible as an aid to the interpretation of a contract.

Read the full article

Jawaby Property Investments Ltd v The Interiors Group Ltd [2016] EWHC 557 (TCC)

The Technology and Construction Court has provided further guidance on the approach to be taken when determining if Interim Payment Applications are valid.

Read the full article 

2016 Budget: shaking and stirring the UK construction industry?

When delivering the UK’s Budget on 16 March 2016, the Chancellor of the Exchequer warned that we face a “cocktail of risks”. Undoubtedly, this is not likely to be anyone’s first choice from the cocktail menu, however does the 2016 budget offer the UK construction industry the necessary reassurance to stomach what lies ahead?

Read the full article

Webinars to watch: Adjudicating more than one dispute

This webinar will examine the decision of Coulson J in Deluxe Art & Theme Limited v Beck Interiors Limited on the issue of multiple adjudications before the same Adjudicator.

Watch the webinar here

The content within Foundations is produced to help you. If you have a particular issue or area of law that you would like us to cover, then email construction@eversheds-sutherland.com and we will endeavour to address it in a subsequent edition of Foundations.