A Little of Time at Large: Proof of a reasonable time to complete in the absence of a completion date

Keith Pickavance and Wendy MacLaughlin

October 2005

A paper given to the Society of Construction Law in London on 4th October 2005

The authors look at the situation where the contractor is prevented from completing by the completion date and there is no right to extend time (or it is not properly extended): the employer can then no longer insist upon the completion date and time is said to be 'at large' and the contractor must complete within a reasonable time. They look first at how the parties might have come to be without an enforceable completion date and secondly they consider how a reasonable time to complete might be calculated.

Introduction - A power to extend time wrongfully exercised - Absence of power under the contract to extend time - Where there is no clause in the contract - Where the clause is inapplicable in the circumstances - Absence of a contract requiring performance by a certain date - Identifying a reasonable time to complete - A contract with an enforceable risk structure - A contract with a risk structure that lapses - The absence of a contract - Proving the effect upon the critical path - A worked example - The claim - The method - The delaying events - esults - Conclusion.

The authors: Keith Pickavance is an architect, chairman of Pickavance Consulting Ltd and author of Delay and Disruption in Construction Contracts (3rd edition 2005); Wendy MacLaughlin is an engineer and senior analyst with Pickavance Consulting Ltd.

Text: 22 pages

PDF file size: 102k