The impact and uncertainty caused by the Achmea case on investor state dispute settlement provisions contained in intra-EU Bilateral Investment Treaties continues. These issues are potentially far reaching and may extend further than originally envisaged, namely that this case was arguably specific to the BIT between Netherlands and Slovakia. Continue reading ““So long, farewell, auf Weidersehen…” Is This the End of Intra-EU BIT Arbitrations?”
Aqua v. Benchmark: How Not to Settle a Dispute
By Steve Nichol and Matthew Friedlander
In its latest offering, “CLC COVID-19 Claims and Disputes in Construction” the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) predicts that disputes related to COVID-19 are set to rise in 2021. While the optimist may hope that parties will continue to or aim to work collaboratively in order to find workable commercial solutions to claims arising from the global pandemic, the realist knows that such disputes are inevitable. Continue reading “Aqua v. Benchmark: How Not to Settle a Dispute”
Wasn’t It Obvious? The Curious Case of ABC v. Network Rail
By Steve Nichol and Matthew Friedlander
At first glance, the Court of Appeal’s recent decision in ABC Electrification Ltd v Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd [2020] EWCA Civ 1645 might look like the culmination of an exercise in legal hubris. This was, after all, a case focussed on the meaning of a single word in a contract; moreover, a word – “default” – that most of us in the legal profession might say has a well-established meaning.
And, after several hundred thousand pounds of legal fees no doubt well spent, the Court of Appeal told the world that the word “default” means exactly what we all thought it meant – a failure to fulfil an obligation. Continue reading “Wasn’t It Obvious? The Curious Case of ABC v. Network Rail”
UK construction & Engineering: Practice and procedure: Pre-action disclosure
By Vijay Bange and Matthew Friedlander
Please Sir may I have some more…
Requests by a party for disclosure of further documents is often a vexed issue, and the motives may in some instances be tactical, and inevitably it’s a costly affair. Recently, its been reported that the insurers for HCC International Insurance Company, PLC in its dispute with Roc Nation LLC (Rapper Jay-Z’s management company), has sought a motion before a New York federal judge seeking disclosure of documents from a UK Broker, and which will entail the discovery requests to be ultimately pursued via the process in the UK courts. Roc Nation has alleged that this is an attempt to “kick the can farther down the road”[1], and is objecting to the motion. Continue reading “UK construction & Engineering: Practice and procedure: Pre-action disclosure”