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It started out so well ...' Construction Contracts and Letters of Intent

Paper number
D116

James Bowling

December 2010

A paper based on a talk given to the Society of Construction Law at a meeting in Derby on 23rd March 2010

This paper considers the various forms of letters of intent used on construction projects and their effectiveness. James Bowling examines three things (i) How letters of intent can and should be classified (ii) What the different types of letters of intent mean, in a legal sense, both in terms of regulating rights and responsibilities and also for things like adjudication and (iii) How these considerations were treated in the recent Supreme Court case on the subject, RTS Flexible Systems v Molkerei.

The starting point: 'There's bound to a contract in some form'? - If it's not always a contract, what is it, and how do we find out? - Heads of terms / letters of comfort - Restitutionary letters of intent - Contractual letters of intent / mini contracts - The 'Trojan horse' - Adjudication - RTS Flexible Systems v Molkerei - Conclusions.

The author: James Bowling is a barrister practising from 4 Pump Court, Temple, London.

Text 16 pages