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Comment

Unfair penalty

2004-10-15T00:00:00Z

NSV carried out work on the instructions of Consafe on heating, ventilation and air-conditioning equipment at a plutonium chemical waste plant at Drigg, in Cumberia. Consafe counter-claimed for liquidated damages. NSV said that liquidated damages could not be levied because they were a penalty. As the judge said, if the ...

Comment

One-eyed jock

2004-10-15T00:00:00Z

Lord Fraser’s report on Holyrood appears to me to be one-eyed, ignoring as it does the plight of the trade contractors involved. The building may well have cost its owners – the taxpayers – £431m but I surmise the cost to its builders, trade contractors and the professional team is ...

Comment

Isn’t it obvious?

2004-10-15T00:00:00Z

You may not be entirely surprised to learn that when it comes to construction law the most obvious meaning of a word isn’t necessarily the right one. Context is all

Comment

Hansom

2004-10-15T00:00:00Z

This week we are treated to more of Nigel Griffiths’ rough magic, Ken Bates is remembered and the Construction Confederation’s dark secret is exposed

Comment

Gone with the wind

2004-10-15T00:00:00Z

The objections to on-shore wind farm schemes (24 September, page 70) are classic nimbyism. Would the objectors prefer a nuclear power station on the green fields? At least with wind farms, when they are removed you wouldn’t know they had even been there.

Comment

On different tracks

2004-10-15T00:00:00Z

I don’t claim to be an expert in construction project management, or indeed public transport, but to attempt to compare the state of the railways with construction, as Paul Morrell does (3 September, page 40), is surely wrong. Railways provide a service to the clients – the passengers – who ...

Comment

Competitive streak

2004-10-15T00:00:00Z

James Foster Under pressure from the EU, the government has reclassified registered social landlords as public bodies. The ramifications for procurement are far-reaching

Comment

Wonders & blunders

2004-10-15T00:00:00Z

A civilised street with space for everything turns into an eyesore that should have no place on this small planet, says Bill Bryson

Comment

Give us our money back

2004-10-15T00:00:00Z

Colin Harding The government’s Pensions Bill is proof that it is waging a war against small employers. It is time to take our savings out of the Treasury’s hands

Comment

Red alert

2004-10-15T00:00:00Z

Here’s another of Latham’s review panels, this time worrying over the state of adjudication. But it’s adjudicators’ state of mind that should be ringing alarm bells

Comment

Above financial persuasion

2004-10-15T00:00:00Z

Tony Bingham (24 September, page 70) says that adjudicators should not be given the power to decide on their own jurisdiction as they have a financial interest in the outcome.Come off it, Tony! Arbitrators have the power to decide on their own jurisdiction, and the courts encourage parties to refer ...

Comment

That settles it

2004-10-08T00:00:00Z

So, you’ve dispensed with the expensive lawyer and drawn up the final settlement yourself. Here’s how to make sure the agreement means what it says

Comment

Trouble in the nursery

2004-10-08T00:00:00Z

The Latham payment review panel has failed to produce an ABC for squabbling subbies. Nanny government must decide when to step in, and when to keep clear

Comment

The moment to mediate

2004-10-08T00:00:00Z

The claimants Yorkshire Bank, had been involved in litigation with the defendants in respect of four coaches that the claimants had engaged RDM Asset Finance Limited to recover and sell. The claimants at trial had been successful in respect of only one of the coaches, but nonetheless recovered £65,000 together ...

Comment

A tragic legacy

2004-10-08T00:00:00Z

Although it is possible to have sympathy with any small building contractors who are struggling to obtain employer’s liability insurance at the moment, the root cause of this problem is not any great rise in claims, or the compensation culture, as some employers organisations would attempt to suggest.

Comment

He knew he was right

2004-10-08T00:00:00Z

Construction management has failed several Arts Council projects and now the Scottish parliament. Of course, if those clients had just listened in the first place …

Comment

Hansom

2004-10-08T00:00:00Z

Confusion reigns at Jarvis, where one Andrew has three jobs, and at Mace, where two Chrises share one job. Thank God everything’s clear at Holyrood …

Comment

Green grass roots

2004-10-08T00:00:00Z

Since politicians clearly cannot be trusted to tackle climate change, it’s up to the lowly masses to make a difference – and that includes designers and engineers

Comment

Dear site diary

2004-10-08T00:00:00Z

Project manager Andrew Farrer extols the virtues of keeping a comprehensive works log – if only to provide valuable evidence in the event of a dispute

Comment

The dangers of dropping an E

2004-10-08T00:00:00Z

A court found that a developer accidentally dropped a crucial clause ‘E’ from a contract, but then deliberately ignored its own mistake. The judge was not happy …