Legal

A contractor who took a design firm to court after concrete on its development deteriorated just four months after completion has lost its case. Cambridgeshire-based MJS Projects (March) Ltd took designers RPS Consulting Services Ltd to Leeds’ Technology and Construction Court for alleged negligence and breach of contract. It alleged…

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) is asking the High Court to hold parent companies of some Grenfell Tower contractors liable for part of a £360m legal claim for tragedy-related costs. The council has launched claims at the court against firms directly involved in the work, including Rydon,…

There were no unsuccessful tenders to win places on the Building Safety Regulator’s (BSR’s) higher-risk building framework, Construction News can reveal. Seven companies won places on the framework in October 2023 with LB Building Control winning an extra place last year, the BSR said. The framework sees the companies carry…

A builder has been sentenced to perform community service after pleading guilty to carrying out unlicensed asbestos removal work during a house renovation. Despite being warned by the customer that asbestos was potentially present in the fascia boards, builder Gavin Mutch proceeded to remove the asbestos-containing materials, the Health and…

The director of a subcontractor was sacked after being complicit in bribing a Hinkley Point C manager with a quad bike, a tribunal has heard. Garrick Nisbet took Notus Heavy Lift Solutions, where he had been a director, to an employment tribunal for unfair dismissal. Despite winning his claim, Judge…

A joinery boss who falsely claimed a £30,000 Covid loan has been given a suspended prison sentence. Charles Ling, of North Road, Havering-atte-Bower, Romford, Essex, was sentenced to 15 months in custody, suspended for 18 months, at Snaresbrook Crown Court, for fraud related to the Covid support scheme, according to…

A scaffolding supply firm has won the latest round of its court battle to protect the patent of its trestle designs. Wembley-based SafeStand had designed a new trestle system to comply with changes in the safety regulations for working at height and went to court over infringement of its work.…

A judge has issued a warrant for the arrest of a construction firm director who failed to attend court to face charges of manslaughter plus health and safety breaches relating to a 2020 site death. Peter Clifford, formerly of Holland Road, Felixtowe, failed to turn up to Ipswich Crown Court…

A self-employed plasterer who suffered a brain injury after falling from an unfenced mezzanine floor at a construction site has lost his High Court appeal for more damages. Charles Lee attempted to overturn an earlier ruling by Chelmsford County Court that found he was foul of contributory negligence in the…

OCU Modus has been ordered to pay more than £2.6m after a High Court judge found a firm it bought two years ago was liable for defects in underground cables installed to connect a solar farm project. A judge at the Technology and Construction Court last week found in favour…