coursework: giving eased advice in the industry

Assessment Scenario & TaskScenario:The Adelphi Lads Club & Ragged School, Salford, originally opened its doors to the children ofSalford in 1888 with the aim of raising aspirations by directing their “energies into channels moreelevating than congregating in gangs on street corners”.The old club situated at 49 Cannon Street, Salford (“the Site”), has now fallen into disrepair andwas due to be sold (with full planning permission for residential use) by public auction with aGuide Price of £900,000 before being suddenly withdrawn from sale and sold privately.The mystery purchaser is an entrepreneur (and former CLDR student of the University of Salford),sole shareholder and CEO of a development company called Salgirl Limited (“the Employer”).Thursday 31st March, 2022 Lina Saeed l.saeed@bub.bhAssessment Information/Brief CLDR 20222Salgirl entered into a contract with Ting Ting Construction Limited (“the Contractor”) on 03February 2022 for the refurbishment of the former Adelphi Lads Club & Ragged School (“theWorks”) under a JCT Standard Building Contract With Quantities 2016 (“JCT SBC/Q 2016”) formof contract (“the Contract”) to create a number of luxury residential shell spaces within theextended old building which were to be sold off for profit.Incorporated into the Contract Documents was a Refurbishment / Demolition AsbestosContaining Material Survey (“Asbestos Survey”) which confirmed that whilst asbestos had beenidentified in the existing derelict structure, following the stripping out of the asbestos by aspecialist asbestos removal contractor, Era Merewether Limited, all asbestos had been eliminatedand the Site was certified as being “fit for reoccupation”.Included in the Contract Particulars was a Date for Completion of 27 May 2022 and included inthose particulars was the following statement relating to liquidated damages:“…liquidated damages are £2,750 per day…”On 25 February 2022 the mechanical & electrical subcontractor, Jamal, uncovered material in thebasement of the Site which appeared to be asbestos.Ting Ting’s construction manager immediately suspended work in the affected areas of the Siteand requested an instruction from Weasley LLP (“the Contract Administrator”) who issued awritten instruction requiring Ting Ting to immediately arrange tests on the suspect material andto then “…remove all asbestos containing material in order that the Works can be completed bythe Date for Completion…”Era Merewether Limited returned to the Site and confirmed that the suspicious materialcontained asbestos fibres and advised Ting Ting that, due to the location of the material, it wouldbe difficult to remove and that they would only be willing to carry out the safe removal of theasbestos for Ting Ting on a dayworks basis.Ting Ting gave notice to Weasley in accordance with the Contract requesting an extension of timeand payment of loss and expense.By the time the remaining asbestos containing material has been removed a delay to theCompletion Date of 10 days had occurred.At a subsequent site valuation the Contractor’s graduate quantity surveyor included an itemunder the Variation section for the removal of the asbestos based upon daywork sheets signedby the Clerk of Works.The Quantity Surveyor rejected the valuation of the asbestos removal on the basis of dayworksand referred to a clause contained in the Preliminaries section of the Contract Bills which states:“…No work will be valued on a daywork basis unless written notice of the commencement ofdaywork is given to the Contract Administrator…”Assessment Information/Brief CLDR 20223The Quantity Surveyor quite rightly points out that whilst proper notice in relation to extensionsof time and loss and expense were submitted by Ting Ting, no such notice relating to any dayworkswas given.After completion of the Works Ting Ting receives a letter from Weasley responding to Ting Ting’srequest for an extension of time and loss and expense in relation to the asbestos issue whichstated.“…I refer to your requests for an extension of time and loss and expense relating to the discoveryof asbestos. Whilst I am sympathetic to your predicament, I have been reminded by theEmployer’s commercial director that you should have been aware at the time of entering into theContract that, given the age of the building, there was always a likely to be more asbestos in thebasement. I am therefore instructed that you accepted the time and money risk associated withthis problem when you signed the Contract.In the circumstances I have no alternative but to reject your requests for an extension of time andloss and expense.Accordingly, as the Works achieved practical completion 10 days after the Completion Date, Iregret to inform you that the Employer intends to deduct liquidated damages in the sum of£27,500 from your final payment…”Ting Ting has now discovered that Gladys Althorpe, the CEO of Salgirl, has taken overresponsibility for all Salgirl’s commercial affairs and instructed her team to apply to Salford CityCouncil for a change of use to the completed Works. Rather than sell the luxury residential shellspaces, she has now opened the doors of the building to homeless people providing health,education and free hot meals.Task:You are required to prepare a report of 2,500 words in length (the word count excludes thelist of references, list of cases, any bibliography and cover sheet) which provides advice toTing Ting in relation to the legal position with regard to the following:a) Whether Ting Ting is entitled to be paid additional monies in respect of the removal of theasbestos and, if so, what the basis of the valuation should be.b) Whether, in principle, Ting Ting is entitled to an adjustment to the Completion Date andto payment for loss and expense in respect of the discovery of asbestos.c) Whether Weasley’s response to the request for an extension of time and loss and expenseis correct and appropriate.d) Whether, in principle, Salgirl might be entitled to deduct liquidated damages of £27,500.Sections (a) – (d) above carry equal weighting in the overall mark.Assessment Information/Brief CLDR 20224Your advice should be fully supported by reference to relevant provisions of JCT SBC/Q 2016together with relevant caselaw and any authorities in statute which should all be cited andreferenced in accordance with the Harvard (APA 7th) style of referencing.Please also include separate lists of cases and / or statutes (if any) referred to in alphabeticalorder.Whilst every effort has been taken to make the technical aspects of the problem plausible, it ispossible that you may believe as a result of your own personal expertise and knowledge that thegiven scenario is unrealistic. Such beliefs are irrelevant to this assignment and you must addressthe scenario as set out above.You need not consider the implications of the legislation relating to the control of asbestos and/ or planning.Assessed intended learning outcomesOn successful completion of this assessment, you will be able to:Knowledge and Understanding In terms of exceeding the word count,1. Demonstrate a theoretical and practical understanding of the reasons why disputes arise inthe construction industry and the various mechanisms for avoiding and resolving them.2. Explain the various principles of substantive law which are relevant to disputes in theconstruction industry.3. Demonstrate an understanding of how these legal principles influence professional practicewithin the industry.4. Apply relevant principles of law to a range of problem scenarios and provide articulate andlogical solutions.5. Critically evaluate the appropriateness of current professional practice in the context ofrelevant legal rules and identify areas requiring reform.Practical, Professional or Subject Specific Skills:1. Dealing with a challenging real – life scenario that might manifest itself in industryincluding collating various issues from technical, contractual, legal and factualperspectives.2. Providing reasoned advice in industry.Module Aims1. To introduce students to the nature and causes of disputes between contracting parties andstakeholders in the construction industry and the various mechanisms for dispute avoidanceand resolution.2. To further develop students’ knowledge of construction law and dispute resolution within anindustry context reflecting the commercial realities of the construction industry in the UKand reflecting the international nature of construction.3. To raise students’ commercial awareness and to consider risk management from acommercial perspective.Word countAssessment Information/Brief CLDR 20225Your assessment should be a maximum of 2,500 words which includes case names and extractsfrom all sources. Every word from the start of the advice to the end of the advice countstowards the word count. References and lists of cases are not included in the word count.No Appendices to the report are permitted. In terms of the effect of exceeding the word count,please see the Assessment Criteria relating to brevity, effectiveness and clarity of: writing style,advice and structure. At this stage of their literacy development, the aim is for students todecide for themselves the appropriate split of words between each section.Feedback arrangements1. Feedback on a single draft per student will be available in tutorials.2. The final opportunity for students (including those with Reasonable Adjustment Plans) toreceive formative feedback on drafts and raise queries with the coursework is 16:00 Friday25 March 2022.3. The aim is to provide written feedback on all final submissions within the University targetof 15 working days after submission. However, this period may need to be extendeddepending upon the actual cohort size.Support arrangementsYou can obtain support for this assessment using the following:1. Visiting the Frequently Asked Questions page in Blackboard;2. During weekly tutorialsaskUSThe University offers a range of support services for students through askUS.Good Academic Conduct and Academic MisconductStudents are expected to learn and demonstrate skills associated with good academicconduct (academic integrity). Good academic conduct includes the use of clear and correctreferencing of source materials. Here is a link to where you can find out more about the skillswhich students require http://www.salford.ac.uk/skills-for-learning.Academic misconduct will be referred to the School’s Academic Misconduct Officers. Do notshare drafts of your work with other students as you too may be referred for AcademicMisconduct.Academic Misconduct is an action which may give you an unfair advantage in youracademic work. This includes plagiarism, asking someone else to write your assessment foryou or taking notes into an exam. The University takes all forms of academic misconductseriously. You can find out how to avoid academic misconduct herehttps://www.salford.ac.uk/skills-for-learning.Assessment InformationIf you have any questions about assessment rules, you can find out more at askUS.Personal Mitigating CircumstancesAssessment Information/Brief CLDR 20226If personal mitigating circumstances may have affected your ability to complete thisassessment, you can find more information about personal mitigating circumstancesprocedure here.Personal Tutor/Student Progression AdministratorIf you have any concerns about your studies, contact your Personal Tutor or your StudentProgression Administrator.Assessment Criteria:The coursework will be assessed according to the following 6 criteria:1. Brevity, effectiveness and clarity of: writing style, advice and structure.2. Conformity with accepted conventions for spelling, punctuation, grammar, citation andreferencing.3. Depth of understanding of relevant legal concepts.4. Extent of knowledge and understanding gained from the student’s own reading.5. Ability to apply legal concepts to the facts set out in the brief.6. Ability to develop an argument supported by relevant evidence.Each of the above criteria carries equal weighting in the overall mark and it is the effectivenessof the report in providing reasoned and correct advice that is the overriding aim of thisassessment. Similarly, the answers to Parts (a) – (d) of the assignment carry equal weighting inthe overall mark for the report.