Engineers' Duties and Fee Disputes

Members of Keating Chambers have appeared in many landmark cases covering the major engineering disciplines over the last decade, instructed by both claimants and defendants, including the following:

Gloucestershire Health Authority v Torpy [1997] 55 Con LR 124, in which the liability of engineers for the selection of waste incinerators for hospital authorities was examined.
London Underground Ltd v Kenchington Ford [1999] 63 Con LR 1 was an important and rare consideration of allegations of over-design by engineers on an underground station.
Parkman Consulting Engineers v Cumbrian Industrials Ltd [2002] BLR 64, heard in the Court of Appeal, dealt with contribution proceedings in a negligent design/construction action.
Linden Homes South East v LBH Wembley Ltd [2003] 87 Con LR 80 considered negligence claims against a geo-technical consultant in respect of the provision of information on the suitability of piling systems to ground conditions for residential development.
Royal Brompton Hospital NHS Trust v Hammond (No. 8) [2003] 88 Con LR 1 concerned claims against a mechanical and electrical engineer (as well as architects, project managers and contractors) on a hospital project.
Nordic Holdings Ltd v Mott MacDonald Ltd [2001] 77 Con LR 88, heard in the Technology and Construction Court, related to the duty of a professional engineer to review a failed design.
Galliford Try Construction v Michael Heal Associates [2005] 99 Con LR 19. At issue was the existence of a contract between a design and build contractor and a firm of consulting engineers, and whether lack of contractual jurisdiction would prevent enforcement of an adjudication decision.
Mersey Docks Property Holdings v Birse Construction [2005] 99 Con LR 122 concerned £15 million claims arising following a fire at a cold storage and distribution centre, against engineers and other defendants. Members of Chambers represented three of the five defendants, including the engineers.
Burford NW3 v Brian Warwicker Partnership [2005] 103 Con LR 112. The issue was the apportionment of responsibility between architects and mechanical and electrical engineers for design defects in a leisure/retail centre which led to the ingress of serious air-currents.
Offer-Hoar v Larkstore Ltd [2005] All ER (D) 45 concerned the involvement of a Part 20 defendant who had prepared a soils report for the vendor, following a major landslip.

Reported cases illustrate the nature of members of Chambers' work but many professional negligence claims never reach court because a settlement is negotiated or the dispute is resolved some other way. Our expert advice and negotiation skills are frequently called upon for this reason, and our unreported work has included:

advice to the Corporation of London on a multi-million pound professional negligence claim in a complex engineering project
representing a local authority in a professional negligence claim against engineers relating to a new bridge design
advising a Jamaican employer on a US$4 million claim against Australian engineers over defects in the design and construction of a lime-processing kiln in Jamaica, and assisting in the mediation of the claim
defending mechanical and electrical engineers in respect of allegations of negligence arising out of construction of an abattoir
acting for design-and-build contractor in a £12 million professional negligence claim against the engineer
representing defendant structural engineers in £36 million Technology and Construction Court proceedings arising from alleged negligence leading to subsidence in housing estate development
advising employer in A$70 million action against design engineers engaged on propane gas storage cavern in Sydney.

Chambers’ impressive reputation is enhanced by the fact that some members hold engineering qualifications and have practised as professional engineers. Members’ specialist knowledge and expertise is also reflected in their frequent invitations to lecture on professional liability related subjects. Recent examples include ‘Risk in Engineering’ (the Thomas Hawksley Memorial Lecture to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers), ‘The responsibility of being an engineer’ at Exeter University’s Festival of Science and ‘Project team negligence’ at a major London construction law practice.

Further Information
For further information on how our members can assist you, please contact the Senior Clerks, John Munton and Nick Child, in the first instance, on +44(0)20 7544 2600. They and their teams of Clerks will be pleased to advise you on the member of Keating Chambers appropriate to your requirements.