BPE Construction & Engineering Newsletter – August 2014

July was a fairly quiet month for us: like most people, we’re fairly busy but getting hold of people during holiday season certainly adds an  challenge to every matter.  In between reading “out of office” replies, were out and about as usual:

• Anna attended a construction re-start meeting for a project that has been many years in the negotiation, and may finally see start on site in the Autumn.
• We did a lot of “networking” at the Cheltenham Cricket Festival
• We hosted a lot of different work experience students

Back in the office we’ve been kept on our toes considering issues such as:

• How “ok” is it to use un-amended standard form contracts?
• The Claimant’s entitlement to more than fixed costs on entering Judgment in Default
• What should a contractor do when faced with a Contract Administrator who appears to be failing to administer the contract properly (or at all)?
• Can a party attempt to file/serve an amended Statement of Case two days before the trial? (No!)

So…. in honour of holiday season, this month’s newsletter is concise – think of it as the travel version….

Dont go changing - Anna Wood considers whether it really is necessary to change standard form construction contracts 

Cutting through the legalese: "Design Liability for a D&B Contractor" - Steve Oakes and Anna Wood explain the difference between the reasonable skill and care of a Design & Build contractor and the reasonable skill and care of a designer.

You can download the newsletter as a PDF, here.

These notes have been prepared for the purpose of an article only. They should not be regarded as a substitute for taking legal advice.