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Construction disputes can quickly put significant payments, project timetables and commercial relationships at risk.
Our specialist construction dispute solicitors advise developers, employers, main contractors, subcontractors, consultants and other construction businesses on disputes arising from commercial construction and development projects.
We advise on payment disputes, defective work, delays, variations, contractual interpretation, termination and professional responsibility, including disputes requiring adjudication, mediation or court proceedings.
Taylor Rose combines experienced disputes lawyers with substantial commercial property and construction expertise. This allows us to understand both the construction contract and the wider development or property issues behind the dispute.
We act for and advise developers, owners, landlords, tenants, employers, contractors, sub-contractors, and professional consultants .
When a dispute becomes unavoidable, we can help you with:
Maximising recovery – offering advice on serving necessary contractual notices to safeguard your position.
Adjudication – pursuing or defending contractual or statutory adjudication proceedings; a quick cost-effective way to resolve construction disputes.
Main contractor and subcontractor 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.
Cash flow is particularly important in construction.
A dispute over an interim payment, final account or substantial variation can affect not only the individual project but the wider financial position of the contractor or subcontractor.
For employers and developers, there may be equally important reasons for withholding or challenging payment where work is defective, incomplete or substantially different from what was agreed.
We can assess the contract, payment documentation and work carried out and advise on the strongest route to payment or defence.
Where speed is important, adjudication may provide a much faster route to a decision than conventional litigation.
Disagreements over variations are common on substantial construction projects.
The contractor may say that additional work was instructed and must be paid for. The employer may dispute that the work was authorised, argue that it formed part of the original scope or challenge the amount claimed.
There may also be disagreement about the effect of a variation on the completion date.
We can examine the contract, instructions, correspondence, site records and valuation evidence and help establish what was agreed and what is properly payable.
The commercial objective will often be to resolve the disputed items without allowing them to derail the entire project or final account.
Delay can generate substantial claims in both directions.
An employer may seek liquidated damages because completion was late. A contractor may argue that it was entitled to an extension of time because delay was caused by variations, access problems, design changes, other contractors or events for which it was not responsible.
The factual evidence can become extensive.
Programmes, notices, meeting minutes, instructions, correspondence and contemporaneous site records may all become important.
We work with construction experts where necessary to establish responsibility for delay and the financial consequences.
Defects can be discovered during construction, at completion or sometimes years later.
The immediate legal question is only part of the problem. The client also needs to know what needs to be done to the building, how urgently, at what cost and who should pay.
We advise employers and developers pursuing claims for defective work and contractors defending allegations that their work failed to meet the required contractual or professional standard.
Depending on the dispute, expert evidence from surveyors, engineers, architects or other construction professionals may be central to establishing the cause of the problem and the appropriate remedial work.
Responsibility is not always straightforward.
A defect may arise from workmanship, design, specification, materials or a combination of factors.
Different organisations may have responsibility for different parts of the project, and contractual responsibility may not necessarily correspond with who physically carried out the work.
We can review the contractual structure and investigate the potential responsibility of contractors, subcontractors, architects, engineers and other consultants.
This can be particularly important before significant remedial expenditure is incurred.
Ending a construction contract can have major consequences.
One party may believe serious breach or non-payment entitles it to terminate or suspend performance. The other may argue that the action itself amounts to a repudiatory or contractual breach.
The financial consequences can include outstanding payments, completion costs, delay losses and claims arising from replacement contractors.
Before terminating a substantial construction contract, legal advice can be particularly valuable. If termination has already occurred, we can assess whether it was valid and the resulting claims.
Subcontract disputes frequently involve payment, variations, delay, defective work or responsibility for problems elsewhere on the project.
The commercial position can be complicated by the relationship between the subcontract, the main contract and claims being made further up the contractual chain.
We advise main contractors and subcontractors on both pursuing and defending claims.
Where possible, we look for a solution which protects the client's financial position without unnecessarily damaging an ongoing commercial relationship.
Not every construction problem results from the contractor's work.
Architects, engineers, surveyors, project managers and other construction professionals may have responsibility for design, specification, supervision or professional advice.
Where a project has gone wrong, it is important to identify the correct cause before deciding who should be pursued.
We can investigate potential professional negligence claims alongside contractual claims against contractors and other project participants.
This avoids focusing on one party where responsibility may actually be shared across the project team.
Adjudication is a particularly important dispute resolution mechanism in the construction industry because it can provide a decision quickly.
It is commonly used for payment, valuation, variation, delay and other contractual disputes.
The short timetable makes preparation important.
We can advise on whether adjudication is appropriate, prepare or respond to the claim and work with barristers, quantity surveyors and other experts where necessary.
We can also advise where an adjudicator's decision needs to be enforced or challenged.
Not every construction dispute should proceed immediately to adjudication or court.
The parties may still be working together on the project, making an aggressive dispute counterproductive.
In other cases, the project has finished and the objective is simply to resolve a final account or substantial defects claim without spending disproportionate sums on litigation.
Once we understand the legal merits and financial exposure, we can negotiate directly, use without prejudice offers or consider mediation.
A strong understanding of the underlying claim often creates the leverage needed to reach a sensible commercial settlement.
A legally strong construction claim is not necessarily a commercially valuable one.
Contractors, subcontractors and development companies can encounter financial difficulties, particularly after a problematic project.
Before committing substantial costs to a claim, we consider the financial value of the dispute and realistic prospects of recovery.
There may also be other potential defendants, guarantees, insurance or contractual routes which materially improve the client's position.
This commercial assessment can be just as important as establishing liability.
Construction disputes can range from a focused payment disagreement to highly complex multi-party litigation.
We can structure our involvement accordingly.
The initial stage may involve reviewing the key contract documents and correspondence and advising on the merits, value and most appropriate dispute resolution route.
A solicitor's letter or focused negotiation may resolve the issue.
Where further action is justified, adjudication, mediation or litigation can then be considered as a separate stage.
This gives clients greater control over legal expenditure and allows costs to be assessed against the value and importance of the dispute.
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.
Telephone -
9am to 5pm
Solicitor - Construction & Engineering
Daniel is a specialist construction lawyer with 14 years post qualified experience of advising a broad range of clients on contentious and non-contentious issues.
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