Lovegrove & Cotton

It Doesn’t Need to be a Riddle: Section 173 Agreements Explained by Peter Micevski, Solicitor, Lovegrove Smith & Cotton (Victoria Readership)

This article explores frequently asked questions about section 173 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 (Vic) agreements. A Section 173 Agreement is a legal contract made between a responsible authority (i.e. your local council) and an owner of land (normally the registered proprietor) or a person in anticipation of that person becoming the owner of the land. Click here to find out more about Section 173, an article by Peter Micevski, solicitor, Lovegrove Smith & Cotton.

What to Watch for? A Builder’s Guide to Using Contracts and Avoiding the Pitfalls by Mr. Justin Cotton (Australian Readership)

In tougher economic times it makes sense to do the simple things well with paperwork, as the simple things can make all the difference between getting paid and going without. Justin Cotton, partner in construction and practitioner advocacy, has an informative article on how to manage such things as variations and extension of time claims in the standard HIA domestic building contract, how to complete the contract at the outset in regard to progress payments and provisional sums, and the common traps to be wary of in contracts. Click here to access Justin’s article.

Has Mediation Suffocated Negotiation? Written by Professor Kim Lovegrove (Australian readership)

Prior to the 1990s, the concept of mediation as a means to dispute resolution was not well established. The latter day assumption is that absent mediation everything went to court, but the fact is that 90 per cent of matters were still settled before they went to trial. Little has changed; 90 per cent of matters still settle before matters go to trial.Click here to read this article, published by Sourceable and written by Professor Kim Lovegrove. Professor Lovegrove, has published many other relevant articles on Sourceable that are well worth a read. Please click here to view some of his other articles.

BOINZ 47^th Annual Conference & Expo 2014 – ‘Building Controls: Our Future’ (New Zealand and International readership)

The Building Officials Institute of New Zealand is holding its annual conference between April the 6th and 9th 2014 in Wellington. The two keynote speakers are the Hon. Maurice Williamson, Minister of Building and Construction and Conjoint Professor Kim Lovegrove FAIB. Kim’s address will canvass issues concerning anomalies and limitations with the NZ Building Act and he will provide pointers on how to fix it up. To access the flyer for this national conference, please click here.