Construction disputes

Our team of experienced and specialist lawyers have an in-depth understanding of the complex commercial, factual, and legal issues that can arise when matters become contentious on a construction project.

We understand the likely issues that need to be managed and resolved during the construction phase, defect liability period, and long after the certificate of practical completion has been issued.

Our experience means we can confidently, and cost effectively guide you through the legal issues that arise on your project, deploying the best strategy to achieve your aims, be it mitigating the impact of a dispute or, where required, by pursuing and defending claims robustly.

Our construction disputes experience and services

We act for and advise developers, owners, landlords, tenants, employers, contractors, sub-contractors, and professional consultants on disputes arising on construction projects and schemes for development.

Clients come to us because they value our clear, commercial, and strategic legal advice, which seeks to avoid disputes in the first place. Where a claim is necessary, or unavoidable, our lawyers have a strong track record of resolving contentious matters via negotiation, mediation, adjudication, arbitration, or litigation.

When a dispute becomes unavoidable, we can help you with:

• Maximising recovery – offering advice on serving necessary contractual notices to safeguard your position, the duty to mitigate, and how best to avoid future criticism of unsubstantiated claims or your position in reply.

• Adjudication – pursuing or defending contractual or statutory adjudication proceedings; a quick cost-effective way to resolve construction disputes.

• Defect claims – resolving disputes relating to defects, shrinkages, or other faults in the works caused by poor workmanship, defective design, breaches of contract, and/or negligence, together with assistance on any incidental dispute on the value and/or release of retention.

• Time related claims – preparing and defending claims for extensions of time, liquidated damages, prolongation/delay costs, disruption claims, and payments for acceleration.

• Payment disputes – acting on notified payment disputes (known as “smash and grab” adjudications) or disputes arising under applications, valuations, or certificates issued pursuant to a construction contract’s interim payment mechanism.

• Claims for variations – advising on claims where there is a disagreement on any additional payment and/or extension of time arising from varied work under a construction contract.

• Final account disputes - resolving disputes relating to the final payment and advising you on associated claims on matters such as defects, time, prolongation, disruption, and loss and expense.

• Professional Negligence – pursuing or defending actions for professional negligence against contractors, architects, engineers, and other construction design professionals.

• Termination disputes – advising on the legal and commercial issues and implications of a party seeking to exercise termination rights and preparing and defending claims for wrongful termination and/or repudiatory breach.

• Managing contractor insolvency or breach – offering advice on matters such as securing the site, revised insurance arrangements, avoiding further payment, and the enforcement of construction security in the form of a performance bond and/or parent company guarantee.

Recent experience

• Cladding Defects - advising a property developer client, as referring party, in an adjudication claiming c.£1m in costs and damages arising from defects, caused by poor design and/or workmanship, in the façade of higher-risk buildings.

• “Smash and grab” Adjudication - advising a contractor in a statutory adjudication seeking a notified sum of c.£800,000. This “smash and grab” adjudication arose from the Employer’s failure to issue either a payment notice or a pay less notice in reply to a payment application.