Articles and Publications – Page 5

Sydney Partner Sandra Steele Named Lawyers Weekly Construction and Infrastructure Partner of the Year

May 17 2016

Sydney Partner Sandra Steele was recently named as Construction and Infrastructure Partner of the Year at the inaugural 2016 Lawyers Weekly Partner of the Year Awards. Sandra has more than 20 years’ experience advising on contentious and non-contentious construction law matters. She has extensive experience in contract drafting and negotiation as well as litigation and alternative dispute resolution in the project management, construction, engineering and infrastructure project sectors. Sandra’s civic activities include serving as the National President for the National Association of Women in Construction, a member of the Australian Legislation Reform Committee for the Society of Construction Law, the Law Society of New South Wales, and the Resolution Institute and is on the editorial panel of the Australian Construction Bulletin.

Please join us in congratulating Sandra on this well-deserved accolade!

The Lawyers Weekly Partner of the Year Awards recognize outstanding performance by partners in law firms across 21 practice area-based categories. The finalists represent the leading partners in their field and were selected by Lawyers Weekly from an overwhelming number of nominations. Twenty-two high-profile judges took on the task of choosing the winners.

Preparing for a New Era in the Design and Construction Industry

Apr 26 2016

By Justin L. Weisberg, K&L Gates, Chicago

The construction industry is currently on the precipice of substantial changes impacting all participants involved in the design and construction of modern projects. Economic volatility has resulted in significant pressure on all participants to increase efficiency and deliver projects at reduced costs. New technology, including BIM, is impacting the very responsibilities and interactions of project participants. Over the past decade, environmental and sustainable design considerations have gone from nonexistent to a driving factor in the design and construction of numerous projects.

While Design Bid Build (“DBB”) was historically the leading method of project delivery, progressive methods have made substantial gains over the last decade. Progressive project delivery methods include Design Build (“DB”), Construction Manager at Risk (“CMAR”), and Integrated Project Delivery (“IPD”). These progressive methods take advantage of construction expertise during the design phase of the construction project.

How Are Your Construction Activities Regulated under OSHA’s Final Silica Rule?

Mar 28 2016

By Barry M. Hartman, K&L Gates, Washington, D.C. and Stephen J. Matzura, K&L Gates, Harrisburg

On March 24, 2016, OSHA issued the prepublication version of the final rule regarding occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica, including one standard for the general industry and maritime, and another standard for construction work (“Final Rule”). The rule applicable to construction work will be codified at 29 C.F.R. § 1926.1153. It becomes effective June 23, with compliance obligations beginning at least a year later (June 23, 2017). The more stringent permissible exposure limit (“PEL”) of 50 μg/m³ and the “action level” of 25 μg/m³are the same as in the proposed rule that OSHA issued in 2013.

The Final Rule essentially creates three categories of construction activities that are regulated differently depending on levels of exposure to respirable silica: (1) activities excluded from regulation; (2) activities listed in Table 1 that are afforded a “safe harbor” from the requirement to conduct an exposure assessment; and (3) activities that require an exposure assessment. Any employers that perform “construction work” – which may also include employers outside of the construction industry – must consider where their activities fall within the construction standard for silica.

Implementing Building Information Modelling (BIM) in Germany

Mar 07 2016

By Christoph Mank, K&L Gates, Berlin

In recent years, numerous issues have accumulated in connection with the realisation of large building projects planned and financed by the public sector, such as the new international airport in Berlin, the Elb-Philharmonie in Hamburg and the Stuttgart 21 train station project. In particular, issues included delays, huge cost increases and communicating the projects and the attendant problems affecting the public. The ensuing discussions in the German public triggered the formation of a reform commission by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (Bundesministerium für Verkehr und digitale Infrastruktur), called “Bau von Großprojekten” or “Large-Scale Construction Projects”. One recommendation in the reform commission’s final report is that Building Information Modelling (BIM) should be implemented in Germany.

Suspension and Termination Under the Civil Law, Part 2

Feb 22 2016

By Alex Brightman, K&L Gates, Doha and Donal Scott, K&L Gates, Dubai

In a previous blog post, we looked at suspension and termination of a construction contract under a Civil Code system. We focused, in particular, on the FIDIC form of contract and looked at how that would be treated under the Qatar Civil Code.

In this article, we will continue that review, but look at how suspension and termination would operate under the UAE Civil Code.

FIDIC Update: Termination and the Employer’s Obligations under the Red Book

Feb 10 2016

By Mike R. Stewart, Mary E. Lindsay, and Nita Mistry, K&L Gates, London

A Privy Council case last year provided some important guidance on the provisions in the FIDIC Red Book in relation to Employer’s financial arrangements and claims. Whatever your perspective might be, when negotiating or managing a contract based on the FIDIC Books, employers and contractors should be aware of the Privy Council’s findings in NH International (Caribbean) Ltd v National Insurance Property Development Company Ltd (Trinidad and Tobago) [2015] UKPC 37.

The Contract
National Insurance Property Development Company Ltd (Trinidad and Tobago), the Employer, employed NH International (Caribbean) Ltd, the Contractor, to construct a hospital in Tobago under a contract in the form of the FIDIC Red Book.

On 2 November 2006, the Contractor terminated the contract pursuant to Clause 16.2. The Employer did not agree the termination was valid but the parties proceeded as if the contract had been terminated. A number of issues arose during the Engineer’s assessment of the work to the date of termination and these matters, including the validity of the termination, were referred to arbitration.

The arbitrator’s decisions in relation to Clauses 2.4 and 2.5 and Clause 16.1 were later appealed first to the High Court and the Court of Appeal in Tobago and then to the Privy Council.

Personal Property Securities and the Construction Industry

Jan 21 2016

By Belinda Montgomery, Leonard McCarthy and Sandra Steele, K&L Gates, Sydney

It seems hard to believe but come 30 January 2016, the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) (PPSA) and the register it established will have been operating for 4 years. The PPSA has introduced far reaching conceptual and practical changes to Australian law. If you are part of the construction industry, to protect your rights, you need to ensure that any registerable interests are registered on the Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR).

Suspension and Termination Under the Civil Law, Part 1

Dec 10 2015

By Alexander Brightman, K&L Gates, Doha

Introduction
Although “freedom of contract” is a concept that is recognised in both the common law and civil law jurisdictions, the codified and prescriptive nature of a civil law system means that the relevant provisions of the Civil Code may even be implied into robustly drafted contracts, including standard forms. As set out below, such implied provisions could have the undesirable effect of delaying termination whilst a court order is obtained or exposing the terminating party to a claim for breach of contract (and compensation) for unlawful termination. In this article, I will be discussing suspension and termination rights under the FIDIC Contract (Red and Yellow Books), before examining the position under the Qatar Civil Code. In a follow-up blog post, I will look at suspension and termination under the UAE Civil Code.

Reform of Construction Contract Law Planned in Germany

Dec 03 2015

By Christoph Mank, K&L Gates, Berlin

Introduction
Despite the huge economic significance of the construction industry to Germany, there is, as yet, no codified construction contract law. Usually, general services contract law according to the German Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch – BGB) is applied to contract types as varied as manual repair work and project developments involving millions of Euros. Traditionally, general contractual terms known as “VOB/B” (Verdingungsordnung für Bauleistungen), which have existed for almost 100 years, are of considerable practical importance to the German construction industry. They are flanked by increasingly extensive case law regarding individual issues of construction law, requiring expert knowledge to comprehend the legal framework for construction contracts. A codification of construction contract law has been called for in Germany for a long time. The most recent comprehensive reworking of the law of obligations, which came into effect in 2002, also saw a revision of services contract law, but without consideration of the specific characteristics of construction contracts. The pressure exerted by practitioners on the legislature has increased due to recommendations issued by the building commission, “Deutscher Baugerichtstag”, that has been convening biannually since 2006. In September of this year, a draft bill was presented by the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (Bundesministerium der Justiz und für Verbraucherschutz) for the reform of the construction contract law. There will be considerable need for further discussion regarding the details in the consultations currently taking place among interested groups. However, we would like to take this opportunity to give an overview of the planned changes to the law.

Materials Available: EPC Contracting Issues in the Oil & Gas Industry

Nov 11 2015

K&L Gates and Marsh recently co-sponsored a one-day, complimentary seminar titled “EPC Contracting Issues in the Oil & Gas Industry.”

The seminar featured six hour-long sessions, including a luncheon presentation by Robert Peterson, senior partner at Oliver Wyman, and an industry roundtable review panel consisting of industry experts from Exxon Mobil, Phillips 66, Chicago Bridge & Iron Company, Fluor, and Aker Solutions.

More than 100 representatives from leading energy companies attended the seminar at the JW Marriott Houston Downtown.

Houston partners Randel Young and John Sullivan III, Pittsburgh partners Richard Paciaroni and Jason Richey, London partner Matthew Smith, Washington, D.C. partner Steven Sparling, and Dallas partner Beth Petronio, along with Pittsburgh associate Jackie Celender, presented during the seminar.

Seminar materials can be found here.

Catagory:Articles and Publications