Legal

Three Isle of Wight firms have been fined after the death of a worker killed after a wall collapsed during a demolition job. Ryde Demolition employee David Shayler, a father of two children, was removing roof timbers from a former family-outreach centre by hand. A gable wall partially collapsed, causing…

Bouygues UK is suing an electrical wholesaler over a fire at a major project, arguing that the incident delayed completion by nearly two months. The contractor completed the £126m Cambridge Assessment building in 2018, providing a new headquarters for the university’s exam board manager. Construction News visited the project in…

A Welsh builder who caused up to £100,000 worth of damage to eight different homes has been sentenced to prison for two years and three months. Robert Hayel from Marguerites Way in St Fagans admitted to two counts of participating in a fraudulent business. The case was brought by Cardiff Council’s Trading…

A pair of Scottish property developers who sold land to themselves despite owing tax authorities more than £31,000 have been banned for a combined total of 13 years. Richard Black, 54, from Collessie, and William Edmiston, 55, from Kirkcaldy, in Fife, were directors at Mellerstain Developments. The business, which was…

Planning permission required for HS2 work could be delayed after the Court of Appeal ruled councils are responsible for assessing the local impact of works for the project, rather than HS2 itself. The verdict is part of a dispute that began more than two years ago, when Hillingdon Council rejected…

Environmental campaigner and TV personality Chris Packham has said he intends to continue his legal fight against HS2. On Friday, the Court of Appeal upheld an earlier court verdict denying Packham’s request for a judicial review of government backing for the project. “In my opinion the government has been let…

Requests for a judicial review of the government’s backing for HS2 have been rejected by the Court of Appeal. In a judgement issued today, judges upheld an earlier court ruling that there were no legal grounds for the judicial review. The case was brought by environmental campaigner and TV personality…

A 28-year-old man has been found guilty of murdering his colleague at the property they were renovating in Clapton, east London. Dawid Wycik killed 67-year-old Czeslaw Swiatkowski in a drunken rage after he was asked to leave the property. Wycik punched Swiatkowski multiple times in the face, knocking him to…

Firms have been warned to set aside emergency legal funds to tackle disputes triggered by the coronavirus crisis. That was one piece of advice given at a Construction News webinar, which is now available to view below or via the CN YouTube channel. The online event assembled a roster of experts who gave…

A judge has found that a council did not release details regarding a contract change to a potential rival bidder of a £500m Urbaser Balfour Beatty (UBB) energy-from-waste (EfW) plant, but ruled that the would-be rival was not a credible bidder for the job. Judge Russen QC ruled that details…