24 September 2021 Insight Government considers Polluter Pays Principle for cladding A group of residents from the Royal Artillery Quays building in Woolwich, East London is proposing a further amendment to the Building Safety Bill to incorporate what is known as the Polluter Pays Principle... Bookmark this page 2 min read
2 September 2021 Insight Limitations to the Building Safety Bill On 4 July 2021, the Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick announced that neither the taxpayer nor a leaseholder should have to fund works to remediate “shoddy workmanship”. In the context of dangerous cladding, he announced an "unusual change in the law" to retrospectively change the law to "give every homeowner 15 years in which to take action against the people who built their building". Bookmark this page 3 min read
8 June 2021 Insight Fully cladding your Particulars of Claim is key Beware the pitfalls of bringing a claim at the last possible opportunity, and the prohibition against pleading new causes of action in the Reply to Defence … Martlett Homes Limited v. Mulalley & Co. Limited [2021] EWHC 296 (TCC). Bookmark this page 4 min read
23 April 2021 Insight Assignment, novation and contribution We look at the recent decision by the TCC in Energy Works (Hull) Limited v MW High Tech Projects UK Limited and others [2020] on the effect and extent of an assignment of a sub-contract in the context of construction contracts and disputes. Bookmark this page 5 min read
8 October 2020 Insight Concealment, the limitation clock and cladding In the context of a cladding claim (and an interim application for summary judgment brought by the Defendant ), the TCC decision in RG Securities (No.2) Ltd V (1) Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty CE (2) Building Lifeplans Ltd (3) R Maskell Ltd [2020] EWHC 1646 (TCC) is another case which supports the proposition that the discovery (or significant suspicion) of deliberately concealed information can effectively reset the limitation clock. Bookmark this page 3 min read
24 July 2020 Insight Surveyor's negligence claims: no tomorrow for Watts v Morrow? There has been a lot of noise about the recent High Court case of Hart & Hart v Large and, in particular about the Court’s assessment of loss. But it is not a fundamental change in the way the Courts assess damages in negligence claims against surveyors, instead it is a useful reminder of several important aspects of a surveyor’s duty – particularly in relation to newly constructed/reconstructed properties. Bookmark this page 6 min read
7 May 2020 Insight Get it in writing! Lessons to be learned from Freeborn & Goldie v Marcal Architects The Technology and Construction Court decision in Freeborn & Goldie v Marcal Architects (2019) is a strong reminder of the importance for an architect to agree a clearly defined brief in writing with their client and to keep accurate contemporaneous records of instructions and alterations in the agreed design brief throughout the project. Bookmark this page 7 min read