Termination of Contract Flashcards
(a) Compare and contrast as appropriate the common law basis upon
which a contract may be terminated as opposed to employment under a building contract. Your answer should deal with both the grounds for termination and procedure.
(b) Does acting at common law or under the contract provide a preferable way of acting from the perspective of the employer?
An employer consults you in relation to terminating a building contract with the contractor. His architect has told him to ignore the provisions of the contract and do it at common law, though his architect has not told him how to do that. What issues do you consider are relevant and what advice would you give (in particular would you agree with the architect)?
It is easier and more beneficial for a contractor to terminate a construction contract at common law.
Do you agree with this and if so, why, or if not, why not?
(In responding you should fully explain the significance of all the relevant issues relied upon by you.)
A contract may be brought to an end by various means at common law.
What are these and to what extent are they replicated in the JCT form?
You are acting for a demanding American client who is carrying out the development of a high profile office and hotel development. It is their first project in the UK and to date they have shown little interest in contractual issues. Progress by the main contractor employed under a JCT design and build contract has virtually ground to a halt. There are strong rumours they are about to become insolvent. Your client wants the contractor off site as soon as possible and nothing more to do with them. What issues would you consider in advising your client how to proceed and what advice would you give?
You are acting for a developer client who is carrying out their first building development, of a large hotel in Glasgow. The form of contract is the Standard Building Contract Without Quantities for use in Scotland 2011 Edition (SBC/XQ/Scot) (“the Contract”).
Initially, progress was good. However, six months ago, the main contractor halved its work force, and since then progress has been very slow, having all but stopped in recent weeks. Your client has also heard rumours that the main contractor is having difficulties in paying suppliers and may be in
financial difficulties.
Your client wants your advice on getting rid of the main contractor, so as to replace them with someone else. What issues would you consider in advising your client? Your answer should deal with whether your client has a right to terminate, whether there are any grounds for termination, the procedure for
terminating and the consequences of termination. In each case, you should consider both the position at common law and the position under the Contract, mentioning relevant case law where
appropriate.
