All articles by Lindy Patterson
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CommentContract terms: the eiusdem generis rule
Lindy Patterson explains a key principle of contract interpretation, based on a presumption against the use of surplus words
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CommentNEC4 revisions on liquidated damages and payment provisions
NEC4 contract terms have been altered in the light of two recent court judgments
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CommentWhat will the insolvency bill mean for construction contracts?
聽The bill aims to help firms hit by the pandemic but will permanently change how contracts work
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CommentWhat to do if coronavirus means your project gets shut down
As site shutdowns loom amid coronavirus measures, what is the legal position for those whose project never restarts?
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CommentPayments in construction: Find every milestone
When setting out staged payments in terms of milestones rather than value, take good care with the wording
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CommentConstruction contracts: Maintaining good relations
What does it mean if a contract is classified as a relational contract? And how does this relate to a duty of good faith?
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CommentConditions precedent in building contracts
What are conditions precedent meant to require from a contractor in a claim for extra time or money?
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CommentWhat constitutes practical completion
Lindy Patterson examines the conclusions of an appeal court ruling between Mears and Costplan
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CommentCan irremediable defects prevent practical completion?
Lindy Patterson reviews the lessons of a recent case
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CommentLegal: a matter of principle
Lindy Patterson on how even if the employer is partly responsible for a delay in completion, the contractor may be liable for liquidated damages聽
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CommentLegal: Counting the cost of change
Lindy Patterson looks at how valuing compensation events聽under NEC is affected by a retrospective change in scope
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CommentVery much obliged
Even without design responsibility, a contractor has an implied duty to warn the employer of possible problems in a design
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CommentLegal: rectify now, argue later
Is a contractor obliged to rectify a defect when instructed, even if it disputes responsibility for that defect?
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CommentAll change in the FIDIC forms
Seventeen years after the FIDIC forms first arrived, a second edition has been issued. The new Red, Silver and Yellow books focus on greater clarity in parties鈥� obligations and avoiding/resolving disputes as the contract proceeds
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CommentWho pays, if the form doesn鈥檛 say?
Ahead of next month鈥檚 new FIDIC release, Lindy Patterson considers how risk allocation varies between FIDIC and NEC standard forms
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CommentOver to you 鈥� No, over to you 鈥�
We now know Hinkley Point C will be hugely over budget, is likely to be late, and that the contractor will have to bear the costs. But on other projects the allocation of risk is an area of fierce debate
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CommentMore words, fewer claims?
FIDIC will launch a second edition of its Yellow Book later this year. This longer contract looks to resolve some of the issues encountered by those using its predecessor
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CommentDispute boards and the Rio Olympics
Dispute boards are gaining ground internationally 鈥� most recently in the Rio Olympics
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CommentSCL Delay and Disruption Protocol: Take two
Fourteen years after the Society of Construction Law published its first Delay and Disruption Protocol there鈥檚 a draft second edition. So what鈥檚 changed since 2002?
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CommentContracts: Contra movement
In this case from the oil and gas industry, a contractor tries to recover costs for its own negligence