UK
How to Get Paid: An Update on Cases on Payment Applications, Payment Notices and Payless Notices
James Frampton
September 2026
A paper presented to a meeting of the SCL in London on 9 December 2025 and published in the SCL Journal: Summer 2026
The Effect of Construction Operations on Interests in Land
David Sawtell KC
September 2026
A paper based on presentation to a meeting of the SCL in London in November 2024 and published in the SCL Journal: Summer 2026
It’s Always the First Place You Look: Finding Harm and Completing the Cause of Action in Negligence for a Defective Building
Kevin Touhey
May 2026
The winning entry in the SCL’s Hudson Prize, published in the SCL Journal: Spring 2026 and presented to a meeting of the SCL in London on 5 May 2026
The paper poses the question: when does a victim of negligence suffer harm, and so accrue a cause of action? Over sixty years ago Diplock LJ took the view that harm was suffered once construction was complete, and the building owner acquired a defective building instead of a sound one.
When ‘More’ Is a Breach: Overdesign and the Limits of Design Obligations in Modern Construction Contracts
Jovana Veletić
May 2026
The second prize winning entry in the Society of Construction Law’s Hudson Prize 2025, published in the SCL Journal: Spring 2026
The paper examines the issue of overdesign and the possibility of being in breach of contract by exceeding an agreed limit. The paper looks at the traditional limits of liability under reasonable skill and care and why overdesign claims usually fail.
A Private Law Theory of the ‘Just And Equitable’ Requirement In Remediation Contribution Orders
Alec Chen
May 2026
A Highly Commended entry in the SCL’s Hudson Prize, published in the SCL Journal: Spring 2026
This paper examines the ‘just and equitable’ requirement for a remediation contribution order under the Building Safety Act. It examines the case law and the factors courts have treated as relevant and irrelevant and considers whether private law theories – fault-based, cost-based and choice-based – reflect the courts’ approach to the just and equitable requirement for making an RCO.
What Qualifies as a ‘Dwelling’ under the Defective Premises Act 1972?
Sheriar Khan and Nicholas Zeolla
May 2026
A Highly Commended entry in the SCL’s Hudson Prize, published in the SCL Journal: Spring 2026
This paper explores what constitutes a ‘dwelling’ for the purposes of the Defective Premises Act 1972, addressing both the ordinary meaning of the word in non-DPA cases and how this definition has been modified for the purposes of the DPA, including the approach outlined in the Uratemp and Rendlesham Estates cases.
Professional liability after the Building Safety Act 2022
Seb Oram
February 2026
A paper presented to the Society of Construction Law in Reading on 11 February 2026
The paper has a new look at the Building Safety Act 2022 and asks two questions: First, given the stated statutory purpose of allowing claims to be brought directly against those responsible for building defects, what impact has it had upon claims against construction professionals? Secondly, to what extent does it impact on claims not concerning building safety risks, and not having the characteristics that pertain to building liability orders?