After over a decade of uncertainty, the High Court yesterday reined in the use of the quantum meruit remedy. A majority of the Court found that builders can no longer seek compensation on a quantum meruit basis in relation to works where the builder has accrued a right to payment under the contract. While builders can commence a claim … Read more
This is part 3 of our 3-part blog series focusing on contractor insolvency. In part 1, we discussed the key signs and implications of contractor insolvency followed by part 2, which discussed the legal, commercial and other practical considerations for mitigating the impact of contractor insolvency. This part 3 concludes by exploring an employer’s options … Read more
On 1 September 2019, the Malaysian Limitation (Amendment) Act 2018 (“Act“) came into force, introducing, for the first time, a statutory limitation period regime for latent damages claims[1] – currently only applicable to negligence actions that do not involve personal injuries.[2] With the new Section 6A, the limitation period for non-personal injury negligence claims is … Read more
In Thio Keng Thay v Sandy Island Pte Ltd [2019] SGHC 175, the High Court of Singapore upheld a plaintiff’s common law right to recover damages for the cost of remedying defects, as this right had not been expressly excluded in the contract. This decision is consistent with the English law position, which allows an … Read more
In Bennett (Construction) Limited v CIMC MBS Limited (formerly Verbus Systems Ltd) [2019] EWCA Civ 1515, the Court of Appeal held that contractual payment terms, which included provisions requiring payment “on sign-off”, were in accordance with the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (the “Construction Act“). This case also provides notable guidance on how … Read more
London Construction partners, Nicholas Downing and James Doe, and professional support lawyers, Susannah Davis and Noe Minamikata, have authored the United Kingdom Correspondent’s Report for The International Construction Law Review Part 3 [2019]. Read more
One of the biggest risks faced by an employer in a construction project is the impact of the main contractor becoming insolvent, particularly in the current economic climate where it has become clear that main contractors are not regarded as being “too big to fail”. In this 3-part blog series, we discuss how this risk … Read more
In Lucas Earthmovers Pty Limited v Anglogold Ashanti Australia Limited [2019] FCA 1049, the Federal Court of Australia considered several issues that typically arise in large-scale resources projects. In so doing, it reinforced the sanctity of the agreed bargain between the parties and highlighted the inherent difficulties in proving the oft-claimed, but rarely successful, misleading … Read more
