Contract Practice Flashcards
(158 cards)
What are principles of contract law
- offer
- acceptance
- capacity
- intent
- legality
what is meant by an offer
- A promise made by one party which matures into a Contract when accepted by the other party
- An invitation to treat does not turn into a contract ; it merely a stage in negotiations, inviting the other party to make an offer
what is meant by acceptance
- where a party agrees to the terms of the offer presented by another party creating a binding contract
- acceptance must be unconditional (e,g a signature on a contract of employment)
- negotiations are counter-offers, not acceptance
- Silence is not acceptance, unless it is clear acceptance was intended (as substantiated by the party’s conduct)
what is meant by consideration
- parties must exchange something of value for a contract to be binding
- for example, selling their house for £1 is valid consideration, selling your house for nothing is not
what is meant by capacity
- all parties must have the ability to understand the terms of and any obligations under the contract
- consent to the contract must be freely given (force, fraud, misrepresentation, inebriation renders the contract void)
- people under 18, under the influence of drugs or those suffering from mental health conditions generally lack the capacity to enter into contracts.
- the client/company must have the capacity to be able to deliver the work/pay for the work, e.g, I do not have the capacity to enter into a contract to deliver a £100m scheme because I am one person with £0 capital no labor, etc
What is meant by intent
- not all agreements between parties are contracts. It must be clear that the parties intended to enter into a legally binding contract
- the person who wants the agreement to be a contract must be prove the parties actually intended to enter into a legally binding contract
What is a letter of intent
- A letter from an employer to a Contractor indicating intention to enter into a formal written Contract for works described
- LOI’s are used to begin work before formal contract is executed
what are the three typical ways of a LOI will operate
- Comfort Letter
- Recognition of Contract
- Consent to Spend
What is a comfort letter
A comfort letter is a non-binding statement of the future intention of both parties
what do Comfort Letters recognizing the existence of Contract do
- Also referred to as a letter of acceptance, it is used by some forms of Contract (e.g. FIDIC) to formally execute the Contract. Generally such a letter will be issued following the agreement of the Contract and marks the completion of negotiations.
- In some cases it can act as an Interim Contractor on its own terms, which will govern the relationship between parties unless and unit a formal written Contract is executed??
What is an LOI with consent to spend
- Sometimes referred to as an ‘if’ Contratc
- Allows work to proceed up to a certain value whilst Contract is being finalized
- Creates a legally binding Contract between parties which pre-dates the principal Contract but will be superseded once principle Contract is executed
What is the HGRCA 1996
- Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996
- Applies to all contractors for ‘construction operations’ (incl consultants)
- Intended to ensure payments are made promptly throughout the supply chain and that disputes and resolved swiftly
what rights does the HGCRA give construction professional?
- right to be paid in interim, periodic or stage payments
- right to be informed of the amount due, or any amounts to be withheld
- right to suspend performance for non-payment
- The right to adjudication
what were the change the HGCRA in 2009
- LDEDCA2009, local democracy, economic development and construction act saw changes to HGRCA
- Includes all Contracts, including those not in writing
- Withholding notice replaced with pay less notice, altering how the sum to be paid is built up
List some the Forms of Contract in the JCT suite
- JCT Design and Build 2016
- JCT Standard Building Contract 2016
- JCT Intermediate Building Contract 2016
- JCT Minor works Contract 2016
- JCT Measured Contract 2016
Other forms of contract aside from JCT
- NEC3 ECC
- FIDIC Red Book (Conditions of Contract for Construction)
- FIDIC Yellow Book (Conditions of Contract for Plant; Design-Build)
- FIDIC Silver Book (Conditions of Contract for EPC Turnkey Projects)
What is assignment
- The benefit of a contract is transferred from one party to another, but the burden of the contract remains with the original party
- Contrast of Novation
What is novation?
- the process whereby both the benefit and the burden of a Contract are transformed from one party to another
- Requires consent from all parties, usually parties enter into tripartite novation agreement
what is a collateral warranty
a way of forming a direct contractual link between two parties with otherwise wouldn’t have a link, such as between a client and a subcontractor
what is a performance bond
A means of insuring the client against the Contractor failing to fufill their contractual obligation
why might you get a performance bond for a smaller contractor
they are more at risk of going solvent
less well established, probably are more dependent on credit and good cash flow.
how much is a typical performance bond worth
10% of Contract Sum
who issues performance bond
Banks/Insurance companies
what are the two variations of performance bonds
- Conditional: client has to prove that the contractor has not performed
- On demand: No pre-conditions needed to be met. Not often used, seen as too harsh