Construction Contract Variations / Edition 1

by Michael Sergeant, Max Wieliczko

Overview

Changes to the work on construction projects are a common cause of dispute. Such variations lead to thousands of claims in the UK every year and many more internationally. Liability for variations is not only relevant to claims for sums due for extra work but this is also an important underlying factor in many other construction disputes, such as delay, disruption, defects and project termination. This is the first book to deal exclusively with variations in construction contracts and provide the detailed and comprehensive coverage that it demands.

Construction Contract Variations analyses the issues that arise in determining whether certain work is a variation, the contractor’s obligation to undertake such work as well as its right to be paid. It deals with the employer’s power to vary and the extent of its duties to approve changes. The book also analyses the role of the consultant in the process and the valuation of variations. It reviews these topics by reference to a range of construction contracts.

This is an essential guide for practitioners and industry professionals who advise on these issues and have a role in managing, directing and compensating change. Participants in the construction industry will find this book an invaluable guide, as will specialists and students of construction law, project management and quantity surveying.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781843119500
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	05/30/2014
Series:	Construction Practice Series
Pages:	412
Product dimensions:	6.88(w) x 9.69(h) x (d)

About the Author

Michael Sergeant qualified as a solicitor in 1995, and has specialised in construction law ever since. He is a partner at Holman Fenwick Willan, and is based in London, but has extensive involvement on international projects.

Max Wieliczko has worked exclusively as a construction lawyer since 1987, providing advice in relation to all aspects of project procurement, delivery, dispute avoidance and resolution. He is also a partner at Holman Fenwick Willan. Max is based in London, but advises project sponsors, and major international construction companies in relation to projects around the globe, both on and off-shore.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Overview; Chapter 2. Employer Approval; Chapter 3. Scope; Chapter 4. Contractor’s Obligations in Respect of the Works; Chapter 5. Power to Vary; Chapter 6. Variations Required Because of Contractor Risk; Chapter 7. Duty to Vary; Chapter 8. Variation Instructions; Chapter 9. Change in the Absence of a Variation Instruction; Chapter 10. Valuation Process; Chapter 11. Entitlement to Money; Chapter 12. Entitlement to Time

Editorial Reviews

'This is the first book to deal exclusively with such variations in construction contracts and it came too late for the people of Edinburgh. But it does contain, perhaps, a message for those constructing new countries 'Don't expect everything to go to plan'.' - Edward Fennell for The Times Newspaper

'Construction Contracts Variations is a useful guide on a common yet specialised topic. It should therefore be pulled off the shelf and studied closely, whenever "variations" are leading to "vexation".' - Julian Bailey for Society of Construction Law Newsletter

‘I want every adjudicator and wannabe adjudicator to sit an examination and cross-examination on all that is said in this brand new book. It is "Construction Contract Variations" by two top-notch construction lawyers, Michael Sergeant and Max Wieliczko' - Tony Bingham

'The need for a comprehensive and analytical treatment of variations has therefore long been felt by practitioners. That gap has now been more than filled by Michael Sergeant and Max Wieliczko of Holman Fenwick Willan with a work of real practical utility, erected on rigorous intellectual underpinning.' - Simon Rainey Q.C., Quadrant Chambers

'This book will be an invaluable tool to those operating in the construction industry and no doubt a text that will in time become a practitioner's manual for understanding a hitherto under-explored area.' - Hannah Wennell, Associate, Pinsent Masons for Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors

The book is a thorough treatise on the subject of variations and is a must buy for anyone who wants to develop their knowledge of construction law. It is a book not only for lawyers but is suitable for students studying construction law, engineers, architects, project managers, adjudicators, arbitrators and judges. It is simply an excellent book. - Andrew Tweeddale, Corbett & Co International Construction Lawyers Ltd, London for Construction Law International (December 2014)

To construction project dispute decision-makers, this book serves as a comprehensive guide which is instructive on an exceptionally wide range of issues arising in relation to construction contract variations. To construction law practitioners, it serves as a complete directory when advising on both the avoidance and resolution of variation disputes. To construction law academics and students, the book is very well researched and easy to navigate, making it an interesting and highly informative read for professors through to undergraduates. - Professor Doug S Jones AO for The International Construction Law Review 2015

From the Publisher