Lovegrove Smith & Cotton
Construction Law & Planning Law Weekly Bulletin
Monday 13 October 2014
Design and Construct Contracts – Who Cops it in the Neck When Things Go Wrong?(Australian readership) By Conjoint Professor Kim Lovegrove FAIB
D&C or D&B contracting is the “darling” of the development fraternity. But for those that are unfamiliar with the profound differences between D&C and good old fashioned lump sum build contracts, such ignorance can prove to be fatal. D&C is very much about risk migration and alas invariably it is the contractor that is the “poor blighter” who gets clobbered when things go wrong. So for those who are besotted with the muchcelebrated D&C mode of contract, read the article and see whether the lust abates.
New Building Standard for Ebola: A Work in Progress (Australian and New Zealand Readership) By Conjoint Professor Kim Lovegrove, FAIB
The attached Sourceable article discusses the standard that has been worked upon by the Centre for Best Practice Building Control and a drafting team. 4,000 lives lost so far, now the disease is in Africa and the West. The Sourceable article provides the opportunity of commenting by incorporating comments into the commentary slot. As many of our readers are in the building control sector, please “do some good” and help us out by populating the commentary. The feedback will be conveyed to the drafting team.
Listening to the Stakeholders: White Paper Reforms and what they could mean for Accredited Certifiers (NSW Readership) By Justin Cotton, Partner, Construction and Practitioner Advocacy, Lovegrove Smith & Cotton, Construction and Commercial Lawyers
With the NSW government announcing a 12 month review process of building regulation and the Building Professionals Act 2005, Justin Cotton, partner and head of practitioner advocacy takes a look at the positive recommendations emanating from the 2013 White Paper and George Maltabrow report and what all of this could mean soon for accredited certifiers and the NSW construction industry.
Third Draft of a Model Building Standard for Construction of Ebola Healthcare Facilities
4,000 deaths in Africa, two healthcare workers one in Spain, another in the USA have recently contracted Ebola whilst attending to Ebola patients. No doubt the healthcare workers were endeavouring to comply with anti-contagion protocols in a controlled environment, yet they still managed to contract the virus.
Attached is the third draft of a standard for construction of Ebola healthcare facilities. It is a work-in-progress, and so far has had international input from a prominent New Zealand Building Controller, a retired Medical Corp Commander in the United States Army, and some other international experts. Any draft standard must assume a subordinate status to Centers for Disease Control with respect to Disease Control guidelines, pending promulgation of appropriate standards by government legislators. Nevertheless, an international model standard that can be called up by legislators to be used as a guideline for the construction and building control maintenance of Ebola healthcare facilities is an international priority
VCAT – A Brief Guide (Victorian Readership)
When do you issue in VCAT? When is VCAT the appropriate jurisdiction? – when is the Magistrates Court, the County court, the Supreme Court or even the Federal Magistrates Court the appropriate forum? This article gives an outline of how to utilise each jurisdiction when dealing with domestic building dispute.
Body Corporates Litigation, Tribalism and Conflicting Interests (Australian and New Zealand Readership) By Conjoint Professor Kim Lovegrove, FAIB
This article reinforces the “trickiness” of body corporate conundrums and the vexing dilemmas that can be faced when one is intent upon seeking redress. It focusses on the frequent issues of conflict of interest and the invidious position that body corporate managers can sometimes find themselves in.
High Rise Defects and High Confusion over Standing: Who Owns the Common Property? (Victorian Readership) By Justin Cotton, Partner, Construction and Practitioner Advocacy, Lovegrove Smith & Cotton, Construction and Commercial Lawyers
With the rise in building defect claims in multi-level Owners Corporations, the question over who can bring an action for defects in the Common Property, and the line between common versus private can become somewhat blurred. This week Justin Cotton, partner and head of practitioner advocacy, takes a closer look at recent VCAT case law on point.
Building Contract Administration 101 (Australian Readership) By Justin Cotton, Partner, Construction and Practitioner Advocacy, Lovegrove Smith & Cotton, Construction and Commercial Lawyers
Justin Cotton, partner and head of practitioner advocacy, gives a précis of the things to look out for in administering building contracts. It is invariably getting the simple things right that enable you as a builder to avoid contract disputation altogether, or to at least minimise the scope of a dispute. Getting the simple things right means good paperwork management.
Owners’ Guide to Victorian Building Law & Building Contracts (Victorian Readership)
The “Owners’ Guide to Victorian Building Law & Building Contracts” is one of the most viewed resources in the Lovegrove Smith & Cotton E-Library. This book provides a holistic synopsis of Victorian building law and building contracts for Owners. Lovegrove Smith & Cotton have received tremendous feedback in regard to this book.
Builders Guide to Contracts (Victorian readership – builders and contractors)
The attached booklet co-authored by Kim Lovegrove and Stephen Adorjan provides a comprehensive analysis of Victorian building law for builders. It covers DBCA, negotiating contracts along with ways by which one stays out of trouble. To access the booklet click here, happy reading.
Lovegrove Smith & Cotton’s E-Library is a free online resource of articles, which puts a wealth of information at your fingertips. The articles in the E- Library have been written by lawyers and a number of them have been published in the Australian, The Age and the Herald Sun. Some of the articles date back to the 1990’s.
