UK Construction Briefing Spring 2019

Welcome to our spring edition of the UK Construction Briefing, in which we highlight issues affecting UK construction businesses.

If you would like more information on any of the issues raised below, please contact one of the team listed under Key Contacts.

You can find all our publications on the "Insights" tab on our web page: UK Construction team.

UK construction contracts and procurement

• UK construction contracts news round-up
• Commentaries on recent cases
  
  
  • Practical completion: construction law's elephant (easier to recognise than describe) (Mears Ltd v. Costplan Services (South East) Ltd and others)
  • Prevention principle and expressly agreed terms (North Midland Building Ltd v. Cyden Homes Ltd)
  • High Court holds that Brexit does not amount to frustration of a lease (Canary Wharf Limited v. European Medicines Agency)
    (Note: since this article was written, the EMA has launched an appeal of the High Court decision.)

Payment update

• Round-up of news on payment policies: UK construction focus
• Contract procedure matters: serve those notices to protect your payment position
• Use of project bank accounts set to rise on UK projects

Resolving UK construction disputes

• Round-up of litigation and ADR procedure news for in-house lawyers (construction focus)
• No 'right' way to arbitrate
• ADR liaison forum proposed
• Adjudication procedure: case reviews
  
  
  • Grove confirmed as established approach to starting true value adjudications (M Davenport Builders Ltd v. Greer and another)
  • Is new legislation needed for adjudication?

Industry Issues

• Legal issues for those running UK construction businesses (March 2019)
• Negotiations about how the UK exits the EU continue. To read more about the issues, visit our Brexit portal here.

Dentons is the world's first polycentric global law firm. A top 20 firm on the Acritas 2015 Global Elite Brand Index, the Firm is committed to challenging the status quo in delivering consistent and uncompromising quality and value in new and inventive ways. Driven to provide clients a competitive edge, and connected to the communities where its clients want to do business, Dentons knows that understanding local cultures is crucial to successfully completing a deal, resolving a dispute or solving a business challenge. Now the world's largest law firm, Dentons' global team builds agile, tailored solutions to meet the local, national and global needs of private and public clients of any size in more than 125 locations serving 50-plus countries. www.dentons.com.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.