Monthly Archives: October 2020

DRBF Connections Conference 2020

I will be contributing to the DRBF Connections Conference 2020 this week, speaking with John Papworth on the topic of Dispute Avoidance: Leading the horse to water when you don’t have the reins.

This is a virtual event. The DBRF says:

DRBF Connections Conference 2020 is the only conference dedicated entirely to the Dispute Board process. The event is an online gathering place for DB users, practitioners, and enthusiasts to share best practices, learn from industry leaders, sharpen their skills, and connect with colleagues around the world. Resolve to make a difference in effective dispute avoidance and resolution on projects.

The event website provides the details, including the star-studded list of presenters. It starts at 1400 UTC (Greenwich Mean Time in the old money) on 28th October; my session is at 14:15 UTC on 29th October. The price depends on who you are.

Which is the very small hours of Friday morning for me at Myponga Beach! Happily, whilst the sessions are presented in real time, they have all been pre-recorded. So I think what I have to do is to Continue reading →

The meaning of “the claimed amount”

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Those who follow the Byzantine ways of the Victorian security of payment legislation may have noticed, last month, the decision of Justice Riordan in Façade v Yuanda concerning the prohibition on the court giving judgment under section 16 (the “no payment schedule” section) of the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2002 (Vic) in cases where the claimed amount includes an excluded amount.

These people may or may not have noticed that there have been a couple of further developments in this case since then:

  • on 1st October, the trial judge extended the stay of execution in order to allow time for Yuanda to apply for a full stay pending appeal to the Court of Appeal
  • on 9th October, the Court of Appeal granted that stay. The court proposes to publish its reasons this coming week.

The appeal itself is likely to be heard sometime in late November.

I did not appear at the trial, but was instructed as leading counsel for Yuanda in both the successful applications for these stays (both vehemently opposed), and benefited from the helpful support of Laura Mills of the Victorian bar as my very able junior. We are likewise briefed for the appeal. Being so briefed, I will not comment further until the appeal is heard, save to say that Continue reading →