Opinion 鈥� Page 647
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Labour pains
Gus Alexander - New Labour's enthraldom to big business means we're all being held to ransom by private monopolies that don't know their elbows from a hole in the ground
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Alternative medicine
Ann Minogue聽- Some of the touted alternatives to retention are not all they're cracked up to be – but there are other ways to overcome the ills that they seek to remedy
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Your word against mine
Tony Bingham - When is a dispute not a dispute? When you call it a matter of dissatisfaction and shoo away any adjudicators that arrive to investigate
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Judges beware
Tim Elliott - Why the Court of Appeal overruled a judge's decision, made in the spirit of the Woolf reforms, to strike out claims because they were unlikely to succeed
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Truth and consequences
Melinda Parisotti - Exemption of liability for consequential losses is contentious - its meaning is often unclear and it may not provide the protection that firms think it will
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The employer-bashers
Colin Harding - New Labour started off as the friend of small and medium-sized businesses, but ended up, predictably, drowning them in regulations. Drastic changes are called for
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Bowsher's helping hand
John Redmond聽says Judge Bowsher's ruling in Discain vs Opecprime has done adjudicators a real favour, while on page 46, Tony Bingham takes a very different view
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Get real, m'lud
Tony Bingham - John Redmond is wrong about Judge Bowsher. Adjudicating in 28 days is a job for Superman. Restricting phone calls would be like helping him with kryptonite
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Careless words cost … a lot
Rob Buchanan - Professional advisers should be careful what they say – they can become liable for negligent misstatements that induce a contractor to tender
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The end of the affair
Ian Yule聽- If a client (in this case, Great Yarmouth council) drafts a clause that says it can terminate for any breach, then that's what it can do, can't it? Tell that to the Court of Appeal …
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Down with woolly briefs
Tanya Ross聽- A clear, well-written brief, gleaned from asking a host of pertinent questions, is the surest way the design team can protect and satisfy the client
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Don't hold back
Rudi Klein聽- Retention is a discredited, unfair system that can tie up as much as 20% of firms' turnovers, and may prevent them doing their best work. Let's get rid of it (you can help)
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The weakest link
Tony Bingham - A full frontal attack on adjudication claimed that the Construction Act went against the Human Rights Act, but there is in fact no connection between the two
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Not a penny more?
Richard Guit - The fixed-price contract is at the heart of the PFI environment, but it means the construction contractor must take on the risk when there are cost overruns
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Man of the match
Andrew Hemsley - Whatever you may think of it, clients are using PPC2000, which makes the role of partnering adviser crucial to a project's success
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Shout it from the rooftops
Gerald Kaufman聽- Elections used to be won and lost on housing. This time, it'll barely be mentioned – even though, as a new report points out, it's still an explosive issue.
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One-nil to the chickens
Dominic Helps - At last, we have the final judgment in Discain vs Opecprime. By backing Opecprime, the judge has made the lives of adjudicators everywhere more difficult.
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Difficult sums
Tony Bingham - If a delay leaves you temporarily out of pocket, but does not dent your profit, should you recover losses? One judge said yes, but an adjudicator might not agree …
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Why we should ditch retention
James Bessey - Retention is a time-honoured method of keeping contractors and subcontractors on their toes by withholding a fixed sum of money. The problem is: it doesn't work
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A question of judgment
Robert Akenhead - It is extremely difficult to get a court judgment set aside, as a contractor in Bedfordshire found out to its relief when it was accused of fraud