In late March, entering the first of two national lockdowns, the UK government decided against a shutdown of construction activity. It preferred work continuing where possible, with safeguards. Unfortunately, though, its less-than-clear guidelines fuelled disputes over when contracts provide relief to contractors and subcontractors. Disputes over other contractual provisions continued as before. Four judgments had wide significance given the frequency with which terms similar to those under dispute are used in contracts. In 2 Entertain v Sony the Technology and Construction Court (TCC) reviewed the meaning of "indirect or consequential loss", while in Blackpool vs Volkerfitzpatrick it commented on the meaning of "design life". Another phrase found in many construction contracts was at issue in Dr Jones Yeovil vs The Stepping Stone Group. In that case the employer of a contractor, like many developers, had no proprietary interest in the site. It did, though, wholly own the company that owned and leased out the site. The contractor installed defective heat pumps but later replaced them. The TCC held that the employer could not be entitled to the resulting extra electricity costs because it had not incurred those costs. This was because the standard JCT terms (like the NEC's) stated that they did not confer any right to enforce the contract on non-parties.
展开▼
