Construction Law Today : Construction Lawyer & Attorney : Joshua Glazov : Design Build Contracts, Construction Bankruptcy

In Building Overrun Cases on the Rise, journalist Ed Hammond at the Financial Times reports that late completion disputes are already rising this year in the UK.  He also mentions:

• With projects started in better times now yielding lower occupancy and returns, owners are more inclined to pursue claims against their contractors
   
• Liquidated damages claims for late completion are rising in frequency and amount
   
• Austere times and pressure on margins are compelling owners and contractors to become more contentious and adversarial
   
• The Construction Products Association predicts a 3% decrease in spending for 2010

Will these tends continue in the in the UK?  Will they cross the Atlantic to North America too?

As construction disputes intensify and relationships become more strained, your contracts will come under more scrutiny.  Are you and your contracts fortified for that?

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Most British readers already know that Lord Justice Jackson and his panel of assessors issued an interim report earlier this month in their Review of Civil Litigation Costs. 

The interim report raises a lot of issues that should interest readers outside Great Britain too, especially in other countries with common judicial systems (e.g., the United States, Australia, Canada).  Sometimes stepping outside our own system here in the United States fosters new ideas for solving chronic problems.  The US Navy's adopting the Royal Navy's angled flight decks on its aircraft carriers for safer and more efficient operations comes to mind as a good example. 

In January 2009 British Lord Justice Jackson was appointed to lead a fundamental review of the rules and principles governing the costs of civil litigation. His goal is to identify recommendations for the United Kingdom's Ministry of Justice to promote access to justice at proportionate cost.  The final report is due at the end of 2009.

Lord Justice Jackson emphasizes that the preliminary report is to promote discussion during the consultation period before he and his assessors prepare their final report, So, the interim report focuses on areas where they seek comments from the lawyers and the public at large.  They urge people to submit comments by July 31, 2009.

The following are some of the principal areas of focus in the report:

• Court fees. The report expresses disagreement with the Ministry's policy of full-cost pricing - where litigants pay for the court service they receive. It suggests shifting more costs of the civil justice system from litigants to taxpayers.
• Cost shifting. The report requests comment on whether fee and cost shifting should be abolished in select areas, although it tentatively concludes that cost shifting must remain in some form for most litigation.
  

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