Civil Litigation

Disputes over payment for work completed, additional or varied works, and reconciliation of advance payments. A recurring issue is whether additional work outside the contract was in fact performed, and if so whether it can be charged. On the employer’s side, the question is usually whether the price can be reduced or set off for defects or delay. This office has acted both in bringing payment claims and in defending them. What can actually be argued depends on what survives, the contract, approvals for design changes, site photographs, work logs. That is the first thing we check at consultation.

Claims against a contractor for the cost of remedying defects, cracking, water ingress, poor finishes, that appear after completion. In multi-unit buildings the claimant is often the residents’ representative body or the individual unit owners. In practice everything turns on the appraisal. Which items are put within its scope, and how the appraiser is appointed, move the recoverable figure substantially. The warranty period also differs item by item, which needs to be sorted out early. This office has acted in defect damages claims brought against contractors. Outcomes depend on the extent of the defects and on what the appraisal finds.

Claims by an employer for liquidated damages once the agreed completion date passes, and the contractor’s defence to them. The dividing line is whether the delay is attributable to the contractor, or to matters outside its control, design changes, permit delays, material supply. Where grounds for extension of time are accepted, the number of days in delay falls and the damages fall with it. The contractual rate and any cap, and the point at which completion is treated as achieved, are argued alongside. Both sides work from the same material, programmes, supervision reports, correspondence from the employer. We start by establishing what still exists.

Matters where money lent has not been repaid, goods delivered have not been paid for, or a guarantor is called on for someone else’s debt. In loan cases the argument is rarely about whether money moved. It is about whether it was a loan or a gift, and when repayment fell due. Even without a written acknowledgement, transfer records and messages leave room to argue. In guarantee cases the issues are the scope and duration of the guarantee, and whether the creditor gave the guarantor proper notice. This office has acted for defendants facing guarantee claims.