ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. The Construction case tracker is a list of key judgments from 2020 considered relevant to construction lawyers, with cases listed in reverse chronological order. See also: • Construction law case tracker • Construction case tracker—2019 [Archived] • Construction case tracker—2018 [Archived] • Construction case tracker—2017 [Archived] • Construction case tracker—2016 [Archived] • Construction case tracker—2015 [Archived] Public procurement cases are listed in the UK public procurement case tracker and the EU public procurement case tracker. Key upcoming appeal cases are listed in the Construction horizon scanner (Appeal cases). Judgment date Case Topic News Analysis Summary 31 Dec 2020 JSM Construction Ltd v Western Power Distribution (West Midlands) Plc [2020] EWHC 3583 (TCC) Payment Court considers requirements of HGCRA 1996, s 109 and s 110 (JSM Construction v Western Power Distribution) The claimant argued that, because the parties’ contract contained no final account regime, the contract did not provide an adequate payment mechanism as required by section 110 of the Housing Grants, Construction

CASE HUB See further, timeline Case facts Outline European Commission Article 101 TFEU investigation into suspected coordination between manufacturers of construction chemicals and national trade associations concerning price increases for chemical additives for cement and chemical admixtures for concrete and mortar (Case AT.40861). Latest development On 20 July 2026, the Commission issued statements of objections to a number of manufacturers and three national trade associations setting out its preliminary view that they coordinated future price increases for construction chemicals in France, Germany and Spain between 2021 and 2022. Parties France •

Law360: A construction company has resolved a dispute with insurers over their alleged failure to cover the costs of its legal settlement with Tesco over a southeast London development that had defective cladding.

In most cases, a construction contract will incorporate a number of documents that all work together to set out the obligations and liabilities of the parties and to define the works and when, where and how they are to be carried out. These are often referred to as the 'contract documents'. In addition to the conditions of contract, the other documents that will be incorporated into the contract will depend upon the procurement route that has been adopted. They will commonly include (using JCT language for simplicity): • employer’s requirements • contractor’s proposals • a contract sum analysis or (depending on the form of contract) bill of quantities • specifications • drawings • the programme • BIM protocol Other ancillary documents can be used to clarify the parties' responsibilities, such as the tender, minutes of a pre-contract meeting or derogations/tender clarification—if so, these may be included as separate contract documents or incorporated within one of the documents listed above. Conditions of contract The conditions of contract will frequently incorporate or be based on one of the industry

This Checklist highlights the key clauses and elements of a draft construction contract which need to be considered at the outset of a project when reviewing the draft building contract and associated documents on behalf of a contractor. This Checklist is not an exhaustive list of all the questions/issues that may need to be addressed, but it will help the reviewer to focus on the main issues and get a good impression of the key risks, areas to draw to the contractor’s attention and provisions which are likely to require negotiation. Some of the questions/issues that need to be considered will depend on the size, nature and complexity of the project. General questions to discuss with contractor before reviewing the contract to enable reviewer to understand the contract in context • Does the contractor have an existing relationship with the client? • Is the contractor a single entity or part of a joint venture? • What, if any, contracts has the contractor entered into with the client before (on other projects)? • What are the works to be

Construction analysis: In this Part 8 claim, the Technology and Construction C ourt (TCC) held that, while informal, the parties had entered a concluded contract by an exchange of WhatsApp messages. The essential terms had been agreed and other terms were not essential or would be implied. The court further held that three out of four invoices issued by the defendant were valid applications for payment, even where two of the invoices did not contain a mathematical breakdown of the sum due. In their context, the invoices were sufficiently clear and intended to be payment applications. Written by James Frampton, barrister at Keating Chambers, and Liam Hendry, senior associate at Archor LLP.

Most projects are underpinned by a complex web of contractual relationships between all the parties involved in the project (eg the project company, equity investors, contractors, sub-contractors, off-takers and suppliers). These documents are generally referred to as the 'project documents'. For more information, see: Project documents: issues for lenders—overview. In many projects, the construction contract is one of the principal project documents. What is a construction contract? In a typical project finance transaction, the project company is a special purpose vehicle (SPV) set up specifically for the purposes of the project (see Practice Note: Project finance—key project parties). Projects involving the construction of a new asset (ie 'greenfield' projects) will invariably necessitate significant construction work. If the project company is an SPV, it is unlikely to have the expertise to design and/or construct the project itself so it will enter into a construction contract with an appropriately-skilled contractor (the Construction Contractor) to provide those services. The purpose of a construction contract is to: • allocate construction risk to the party

Construction dispute resolution is characterised by tiered and accelerated procedures, interim binding outcomes and a strong policy emphasis on maintaining cash flow during the life of projects. The principal interim mechanisms used in construction projects—statutory adjudication and dispute boards, including those in standard forms such as FIDIC—are deliberately designed to produce decisions that are binding even where they may be wrong, whether legally, factually or technically. In choosing these mechanisms, the parties allocate risk both as to outcome and error. The contractual agreement, reinforced by statute and judicial policy, is that speed, certainty and procedural efficiency take precedence over merits perfection, with errors corrected, if at all, only through tightly constrained routes, until the dispute is referred for final determination. As a result, the scope for appeal, challenge or resistance to enforcement of interim binding decisions is deliberately narrow. True appeals involving review of the merits are generally confined to litigation and limited arbitration contexts, at final determination stage, and many objections arise in practice only when enforcement

This Practice Note provides an introductory guide to construction disputes, aimed at trainee solicitors and others who are new to construction disputes. It looks at the work of a construction disputes lawyer and the types of dispute that commonly arise on construction projects, and explains the basics of adjudication, dispute boards, litigation in the Technology and Construction Court (TCC), construction arbitration and alternative dispute resolution (ADR). We recommend that you read Practice Note: Construction law—new starter guide, which provides information on the basic principles of construction law and the nature of construction projects, before reading this guide. The content of this Practice Note is also available in the form of a PowerPoint presentation and speaker notes—see: Introduction to construction disputes—training materials. You may also wish to read Practice Note: Dispute Resolution—new starter guide, which looks at dispute resolution more generally. The work of a construction disputes lawyer Construction lawyers involved in disputes work (sometimes referred to as contentious or back-end work) are commonly required to assist clients with a mix of advisory, dispute avoidance and dispute

On every construction project which requires external funding, the lender will appoint its own team of lawyers to draft and/or negotiate the various documents. Part of the long list of documents which need to be agreed are the development and construction documents. The lender will appoint its own construction lawyer to review the construction documents and to negotiate with the borrower's lawyer where it considers that changes are required. The lender's lawyer will want to see that the construction documents protect both the borrower's and the lender's interests, both in the short term (whilst construction takes place) and in the longer term (after construction). This Practice Note highlights the construction documents which a lender's lawyer will typically review and the issues which will be key from the lender’s perspective. In this Practice Note, the term borrower is used to describe the party who is borrowing money from the lender. The borrower will generally be the developer or the employer under the building contract (and this Practice Note assumes that this is the case). Package

Due diligence of construction documents is generally only relevant either for properties built within 12 years of the date of purchase or, for older properties, where construction works have been carried out during the previous 12-year period, although this period should be treated as a practical minimum only, as extended limitation periods for certain building safety-related claims may justify a wider review for property which is for, or includes, residential use. See Practice Note: The construction due diligence process. This Checklist sets out a list of the key points which need to be considered following receipt of the construction documents in relation to the property. The documents should be initially reviewed and these key issues considered before raising any pre-contract enquiries with the seller. For an example of a list of pre-contract enquiries, see: Construction pre-contract enquiries—checklist. Documents • (1) Check that a full suite of construction documents in relation to the construction of the property and/or in respect of works carried out in the past 12 years, or such longer period as appropriate,

This Checklist sets out the key contractual provisions within a suite of construction documents that should be reviewed and reported on by a construction lawyer acting for the potential purchaser of a property or development. This Checklist should be read in conjunction with: Construction due diligence for property purchase—initial review of construction package—checklist. Once the documents have been reviewed and enquiries raised the purchaser’s construction lawyer will also need to prepare a report on the construction documents, see Precedent: Report on construction documentation. The list of issues set out below assumes that the construction works at the property in question have been completed and so it is not necessary to review any of the contractual terms and conditions that relate to the operation of the construction contract during construction such as payment terms (those issues are only relevant for a purchaser who is purchasing a property while construction is still ongoing and where step-in rights are being offered). Building contracts Identity of contractor • Check that the contractor is still in existence and run a financial