Europe – Page 10 – Construction Law

Existence of Dispute for Purposes of Obtaining Stay of Judicial Proceedings

Aug 07 2007

Loon Energy, Inc. v. Integra Mining, 2007 WL 2139992, [2007] EWHC 1876 (Queen’s Bench Div., Commercial Ct.)

In this case, the court considered the application of s.9 of the Arbitration Act 1996 which requires it to stay its proceedings if the dispute before it is one falling within the scope of an arbitration clause. Loon sought and obtained specific declarations in relation to oil exploration rights under English law contracts. In the meantime, Integra launched arbitration in accordance with the terms of a Texas law confidentiality agreement into which the parties had entered prior to concluding the English law contracts. Loon amended its own claim for relief to include a declaration that the confidentiality agreement had been superseded. Integra sought to stay Loon’s application under s.9. Loon countered that at the time it issued its own claims there was no dispute in existence in relation to the confidentiality agreement and that therefore there was no obligation on the court under s.9. Read More

Award Overturned for Serious Irregularity Where Decision Based on Issues Not Argued

Aug 03 2007

OAO N. Shipping Co. v. Remolcadores De Marin SL, 2007 WL 2139977, [2007] EWHC 1821 (Queen’s Bench Div., Commercial Ct.)

In this case, buyers of a tug boat had brought a claim for damages for a misrepresentation by the sellers as to the total rated power of the vessel’s engine which had induced the contract. The sellers argued, inter alia, that the representation, made in the form of a certificate of total rated power, was true, that the buyers had not relied on the representation, and had not shown that the representation was false. The tribunal held that there had not been a representation by the sellers as to the “truth” of the certificate, but only as to its “authenticity.” The buyers appealed the award under s.68 of the Arbitration Act 1996 (the “Act”) on the basis that no argument had been heard on the point. Read More

K&L Gates’ Arbitration World, Summer 2007

Jul 01 2007

By K&L Gates attorneys Wing L. Cheung, Martha J. Dawson, Ira S. Kaufman, Ian Meredith, Sarah A. Munro, Glenn R. Reichardt, Thomas M. Reiter, Stephen A. Smith, Sarah Turpin and Tiffany Yeung.

Arbitration World highlights the significant developments and issues in international arbitration that matter to in-house counsel and company executives with responsibility for dispute resolution.

Welcome to the Fourth Edition of “Arbitration World,” a publication from K&L Gates’ Arbitration Group which aims to highlight significant developments and issues in international arbitration that matter to executives and in-house counsel with responsibility for dispute resolution.

In this edition we look back at the firm’s third annual London International Arbitration Seminar at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Knightsbridge in April and look forward to hosting a similar event in San Francisco on 4-5 October 2007 (details in the Forthcoming Events section on the back page).

We are pleased to include a guest contribution from Petter Tornquist of Setterwalls, the leading Swedish law firm, on the new rules of the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce.

More Than Just Buying Paperclips

Apr 01 2007

This article, by K&L Gates London partner Christopher G. Causer, appears in the April 2007 edition of RICS Construction Journal. It explains the "ins and outs" associated with PFIs and presents arguments for making the whole process easier, and more accessible, for all parties.

PFI has its detractors and it is sometimes difficult to draw out any clear principles from the mass of claims, counterclaims and innuendo appearing in the press – and even in academic journals. But there is one undeniable fact: as a procurement method, PFI is complex and requires a high level of intervention from external legal advisors. It is hard to envisage a PFI project reaching contractual close without at least three sets of lawyers working on it.

So how has the nature of the lawyers’ work changed since PFI started in the early 1990s? What changes are likely in the next few years, and are there any obvious ways in which the delivery of services can be improved?

View the full article here. Posted with permission.

K&L Gates’ Arbitration World, Winter 2006/2007

Jan 15 2007

By K&L Gates attorneys Ian Meredith, Michael D. Napoli, Martin J. King, Andrew H. Davies, Douglas J. Simmons, Ben Morgan, Clare Tanner, Brian R. Davidson, Kari M. Horner, Sarah A. Munro and Rachel G. Stephens.

Arbitration World highlights the significant developments and issues in international arbitration that matter to in-house counsel and company executives with responsibility for dispute resolution.

Welcome to the third edition of “Arbitration World” and the first edition, we are proud to say, following the combination of Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham LLP with Preston Gates Ellis LLP, effective 1 January 2007, to form Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis LLP – “K&L Gates.”

In light of this development, page 3 of this issue includes a short commentary on arbitration in Asia and a profile of the firm’s Asian offices which enable the firm to advise clients in arbitration in this increasingly strategic part of the world.

For those reading for the first time, “Arbitration World” aims to highlight significant developments and issues in international arbitration that matter to in-house counsel and company executives with responsibility for dispute resolution.

K&LNG’s Arbitration World, Summer 2006

Jul 01 2006

By Ian Meredith, Linda A. Kent, Peter R. Morton, Kelly D. Talcott, Matthew E. Smith, Clare Tanner, Sarah A. Munro.

Arbitration World, a publication of Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham, highlights the significant developments and issues in international arbitration that matter to in-house counsel and company executives with responsibility for dispute resolution.

Welcome to the second edition of “Arbitration World,” a publication from Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham LLP’s Arbitration Group. “Arbitration World” aims to highlight significant developments and issues in international arbitration that matter to in-house counsel and company executives with responsibility for dispute resolution.

In this significantly expanded edition:

We look back at our International Arbitration Seminar held at Claridge’s, London in March this year and look forward to our forthcoming International Arbitration Webinar programme in the Autumn;
We examine some practical considerations in relation to arbitration clauses in insurance contracts, consider the issue of whether an arbitrator has authority to grant rescission of the contract as a remedy in arbitration and offer some thoughts on ways to deal with the tricky area of arbitration of multiparty disputes with particular reference to the construction sector;

K&LNG’s Arbitration World (U.S. Version), Winter 2005/2006

Jan 01 2006

By Thomas E. Birsic, Ian Meredith, Linda A. Kent, Peter R. Morton, Kelly D. Talcott, Matthew E. Smith and Clare Tanner.

Arbitration World highlights the significant developments and issues in international arbitration that matter to in-house counsel and company executives with responsibility for dispute resolution.

Welcome to the first edition of “Arbitration World,” a publication from Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham LLP’s Arbitration Group. “Arbitration World” aims to highlight significant developments and issues in international arbitration that matter to in-house counsel and company executives with responsibility for dispute resolution.

In this issue we will be covering some recent decisions of the European Court of Justice which serve to highlight the benefits of agreements to arbitrate, and some English case law developments including a House of Lords decision re-affirming the English court’s noninterventionist approach to arbitration.

We look at the growing importance of Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) and how they might be used not only in claims by investors against governments of developing nations, but also in claims against Western States.

K&LNG’s Arbitration World (U.K. Version), Winter 2005

Dec 01 2005

By Ian Meredith, Linda A. Kent, Peter R. Morton, Kelly D. Talcott, Matthew E. Smith and Clare Tanner.

Arbitration World highlights the significant developments and issues in international arbitration that matter to in-house counsel and company executives with responsibility for dispute resolution.

Welcome to the first edition of “Arbitration World,” a publication from Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham LLP’s Arbitration Group. “Arbitration World” aims to highlight significant developments and issues in international arbitration that matter to in-house counsel and company executives with responsibility for dispute resolution.

In this issue we will be covering some recent decisions of the European Court of Justice which serve to highlight the benefits of agreements to arbitrate, and some English case law developments including a House of Lords decision re-affirming the English court’s noninterventionist approach to arbitration.

We look at the growing importance of Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) and how they might be used not only in claims by investors against governments of developing nations, but also in claims against Western States.

Catagory:Europe