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The Architect, the Banker, his Wife and the Adjudicator: Unfair contract terms and construction

Paper number
118

Philip Britton

May 2004

A paper based on the first prize entry in the Hudson Prize Competition 2003 presented to the Society of Construction Law in London on 4th May 2004

In his prize winning paper, Philip Britton looks at the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977, the Unfair Terms In Consumer Contracts egulations 1994, recent cases from the Technology and Construction Courts, and the Law Commission Consultation Paper 2002 in the context of construction. He looks at Picardi v Cuniberti and subsequent cases; then considers the two situations: where the client/employer does not act in the course of business and where both employer and main contractor act in the course of business. Appended are two tables setting out and analysing the existing law and the Law Commission provision proposals.

Introduction - Background - Unfairness in construction: Picardi v Cuniberti - UCTA, UTCC and construction - Proposals for reform: the Law Commission - Conclusions.

Philip Britton LLB BCL is Director of the Centre of Construciton Law & Management, King's College London and part-time Director of Professional Education at solicitrors Farrer & Co.

Text and tables 25 pages

PDF file size: 142k