BuildLaw Quarterly Journal
BuildLaw is the quarterly publication of the Building Disputes Tribunal in which we bring you a wide range of contributions written by leading construction lawyers, academics, and prominent dispute resolution professionals from various jurisdictions around the world. BuildLaw is published online in March, June, September, and December each year.
Copies of our previous editions can be found in this section of our website.
Leaky Home Case: Failure to obtain a building report results in reduction of damages for contributory negligence
By Melt Strydom. Apportionment for contributory negligence allows a court to share the responsibility between parties in circumstances where the test for causation and remoteness of damage justifies it. It doesn’t mean a respondent will not be held liable for...
BuildLaw Issue 43
September 2021CONTENTS Construction contracts: enforcement of debts due and mandatory alternative dispute resolution clauses Cost certainty for resolving building and construction disputes: extension to the BDT Adjudication Low Value Claim scheme Engineers’ corner:...
Proposed Changes to the Construction Retentions Regime
Author: Hannah Stanley, Building Disputes Tribunal Registrar Despite the introduction of the retentions regime into the Construction Contracts Act 2002 (the Act) in 2017[1], many subcontractor retentions have still been left unprotected and various gaps in the...
BuildLaw Issue 42
June 2021CONTENTS To what extent are adjudication decisions binding on subsequent adjudicators? Aussie Rules - the prevention principle and the duty of good faith What sets jurisdiction in construction disputes? Case in Brief: BNZ Branch Properties Ltd v Wellington...
BuildLaw Issue 41
March 2021CONTENTS When will (and won't) implied warranties expand the scope of works? High risk cladding banned in multiple jurisdictions Paying the price: the risk of not agreeing to the cost of construction works at the outset of a project Case in brief:...
BuildLaw Issue 40
In this issue we look at the basis on which interest can be claimed in construction contract disputes and we discuss the changes announced by the government in April to stimulate the construction and infrastructure sectors post COVID-19. We feature an insightful...
BuildLaw Issue 39
In this issue we look at the government guidelines for NZS3910:2013 contracts affected by Covid-19 Alert level 4 restrictions. We discuss adjudication injunctions caused by the virus and how they may help to provide some clarity to a rather cloudy area of law. We look...
BuildLaw Issue 38
December 2019 In this issue we look at a dispute over a home renovation contract that travelled all the way to the South Australian Supreme Court, highlighting the risks of not dealing with disputes promptly. We examine the ‘Emerald Book’ released earlier this year by...
BuildLaw Issue 37
October 2019 In this issue, we look at a NSW Supreme Court decision in White Constructions Pty Ltd v PBS Holdings Pty Ltd [2019] which found that the claimant, despite using an expert programmer, failed to sufficiently prove that a delay by the respondent caused delay...
BuildLaw Issue 36
July 2019 In this issue we feature an article by the honourable Minister for Building and Construction, Jenny Salesa, with an invaluable insight on the proposed Building Law Reform Programme. In Case in Brief, Jeremy Glover makes a commentary on two recent...
BuildLaw Issue 35
April 2019 In this issue, we feature an article on the warning apartment owners may take from the recent Court of Appeal decision in Body Corporate S73368 v Otway. This decision creates some financial uncertainty for owners who could now be liable for repair costs to...
BuildLaw Issue 34
December 2018 In this issue we investigate how the new retentions regime stacked up in its first court case, in the Wellington High Court. We look at the new NEC4 Alliance Contract, trends in Asian leisure and hospitality, liquidated damages and receivables projects,...
BuildLaw Issue 33
November 2018 In this issue we feature delay analysis. We also look at challenging an adjudication determination in various jurisdictions, the perennial chestnut - who are the parties to the contract? force majeure clauses and causation, current problems besetting the...
BuildLaw Issue 32
June 2018 In this issue we feature 'no oral variation clauses in light of the recent UK Supreme Court decision in Rock Advertising v MWB. We also look at the Grenfell Tower Report and the suspension by MBIE of six CodeMark Certificates relating to ACPs, the...
BuildLaw Issue 31
March 2018 In this issue we feature the approach to judicial review of adjudicator's determinations taken by the courts in NSW and New Zealand. We also look at on-demand v conditional bonds, pitfalls of drafting a subsequent agreement on an underlying contract, the...
BuildLaw Issue 30
Dec 2017 In this issue we feature the Singapore Mataban case where the court confirms an adjudicator's decision to disregard an invalid payment response. We also look at the issue of non-conforming cladding that became notorious with the Grenfell Tower fire. Rebecca...
BuildLaw Issue 29
September 2017 In this issue we feature some of the challenges that are the hallmark of oral construction contracts. We also look at whether a duty of good faith applies to granting extensions of time, how final and binding is an expert determination, how not to amend...
BuildLaw Issue 28
June 2017 In this issue we feature natural justice and adjudications. We also look at representative defect claims and exclusion clauses, further amendments to the Arbitration Act, and the recent New Zealand Court of Appeals decisions in Ebert Construction v Sansom...
BuildLaw Issue 27
March 2017 In this issue we feature new changes to the Construction Contracts Act - the new statutory trust model for retentions which came into force on 31 March 2017 including the late introduction of a 'complying instrument' option as a means of protecting...
BuildLaw Issue 26
December 2016 In this issue we feature recent and imminent changes to the Construction Contracts Act - consultants included as from 1 September 2016 and a new statutory trust model for retentions comes into force on 31 March 2017. We also look at the 'Cinderella of...
BuildLaw Issue 25
September 2016 In this issue we feature "The Penalties Doctrine in International Construction Contracting: Where to from here?" - a paper delivered by Professor Doug Jones AO to the Society of Construction Law New Zealand Inc. in August of this year. We also feature a...
BuildLaw Issue 24
June 2016 In this issue we feature 'Judicial Remedies for Construction Defects: Common Law, Equity or Statute', a paper prepared by Philip Britton and delivered by Philip to the Society of Construction Law New Zealand Inc in March of this year. We also present...
BuildLaw Issue 23
March 2016 In this issue we feature construction professionals with two articles highlighting the risks associated with providing professional services and the standards society expects, and the law demands, of professionals, and a further article highlighting the...