In this session, we will review the top adjudication court cases from 2022 to provide an understanding of the key developments in adjudication practice, and how these might affect your construction disputes in 2023.
This session qualifies for CPD. Click here for further information.
Breakshore Ltd (Breakshore) employed Red Key Concepts Ltd (Red Key) to construct a six-storey tower block in Kent under a JCT contract. The contractual completion was expected to take place May 2021, however, Red Key suspended works in August 2021 on the grounds that the tower block had been built 1.5m taller than the height approved in the planning permission. This pushed back the completion date to October 2021, prompting Breakshore to claim liquidated damages at adjudication.
The Council appointed Thomas Barnes (“TB”) (in administration) to build Blackburn bus station.
There were severe delays on the project, for which TB claimed extensions of time (“EOT”). The Council ultimately terminated the contract because of the delays and the administrators for TB brought proceedings contesting the termination, seeking to establish a right to EOT, and claiming loss and expense and damages for wrongful termination.
As the property sector continues to navigate the wake of the COVID pandemic, the wider economy is heading into choppy waters. The challenging economic environment is already being reflected in the instructions that our property dispute team are receiving, as landlords and tenants grapple with the impact of a slowdown in activity.
Few people will be unaffected by the current cost of living crisis: according to the Office for National Statistics, over 90% of adults say their living costs have increased in the last year; many finding it difficult to meet energy costs, mortgage payments or rent, and spending less on essentials such as food and energy.
On 1 June 2022 standstill agreements were made permissible in Scotland by s13 of the Prescription (Scotland) Act 2018 (“the 2018 Act”). Our earlier article on the key changes of the 2018 can be found here. The new legislation allows for parties to enter into a contractual agreement to extend the prescriptive period by one year. This is a welcome change, as previously extending the prescriptive period was prohibited.
Prescription is the rule of law in Scotland that extinguishes certain rights and obligations after a period of time. This includes a right to recover damages for breach of contract. In Scotland, a contractual claim prescribes after five years; therefore formal proceedings, either court or arbitration, must be raised and served in order to stop the five-year period running.