Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Reappointment of Architect

Scenario:
1. Client appoints an Arch firm, Body corporate,
2. In PAM form, Arch is to be named as a "person" in article 3,
3. If the arch dies, what happens to the appointment of the firm in relation to the contract?
4. Client must re-appoint arch within 28 days but contractor has the right to object. There will be grounds for delay.
5. Would the client be forced to grant EOT & loss & expense if the there is continuous objection from the contractors?

My answer:

Firstly it is important to note that an architect is not a privy to a contract between the Employer and Contractor. The scope of empowerment an architect is strictly limited to the expressed provision of the contract.

Article 3 provides the insertion of the identity of the Architect which refers to a person. Although practice name is in the contract, the partner is personally looking after the job. As far as the contract is concerned, the Employer is under the common law duty to appoint another architect if the named architect ceases to be able to act for any reason (Croudace Ltd v London Borough of Lambeth(1986)).

Apart from the contract, the relation between the client and Architect also subject to the Memorandum of Agreement between the Client and Architect. If the Firm is named in the agreement, the Client may be obliged to name another partner as the Architect for the contract.

Now, if the Architect named in Article 3 dies, the employer has 28 days to nominate a successor. The right for the contractor to object is inserted because the new architect may be someone with whom the contractor has had unsatisfactory dealings in the past. The contractor has to put the reasons for objection in writing. If the employer thinks that the reasons are insufficient, the matter can be decided in arbitration, a situation to be avoided due to the delaying effect.

The rights for EOT are limited to the expressed provision in the contract. In the case of PAM2006 Form, if the contractor continuously objects the reappointment of architect and the reasons for objection are accepted by the employer or through an award of arbitration, EOT may be granted under clause 23.8(r).

No comments:

Post a Comment