Matters / Position and preparation
Test the allegation before responding.
Defending a Position
Corvinus separates what is proved, inferred and unsupported, identifies the technical and contractual issues, and prepares a response that is accurate, supportable and avoids unnecessary admissions.
What Corvinus does
What Corvinus does on this matter.
The work within Corvinus's control, subject to the agreed scope.
- 01Reads the allegation precisely and identifies the obligation said to have been breached.
- 02Tests the allegation against the contemporaneous record and the technical evidence.
- 03Identifies adverse material and weaknesses in the client's own position.
- 04Prepares a response that answers what can be answered and reserves what cannot.
Typical situations
- A letter of claim or formal complaint has been received
- A technical report has been served
- Payment is being withheld on the basis of alleged defects
- A freeholder or managing agent has alleged breach
- A response deadline has been imposed
Typical situations
- A letter of claim or formal complaint has been received
- A technical report has been served
- Payment is being withheld on the basis of alleged defects
- A freeholder or managing agent has alleged breach
- A response deadline has been imposed
How it is examined
How the matter is examined.
- 01
Separate the allegation
Break the allegation into what is proved, what is inferred and what remains unsupported.
- 02
Test the evidence
Check each element against the contemporaneous record and the technical position.
- 03
Identify the exposure
Locate the adverse material before the other side does.
- 04
Construct the response
Answer what can be answered, reserve what cannot and define what must be investigated.
The difficulty
Why the matter becomes difficult.
An allegation is often a mixture of fact, inference and opinion presented as a single conclusion. Answering it quickly, or not at all, can both create difficulties that are expensive to correct later.
What Corvinus establishes
What is established before any position is advanced.
- 01
The allegation
The precise allegation and the remedy being sought.
- 02
The obligation
The obligation said to have been breached.
- 03
The record
What the contemporaneous record supports or contradicts.
- 04
The technical opinion
Whether the technical opinion relied on is properly founded.
- 05
Causation and loss
Causation, responsibility and loss issues raised by the allegation.
- 06
Adverse material
Adverse material and weaknesses in the client's own position.
- 07
The response strategy
What should be answered, reserved, investigated or referred.
Legal and technical framework
What may govern this matter.
Jurisdiction: England and Wales. Applicability depends on the contract, lease, works, parties and facts. This page provides general information and does not determine the position on a particular matter.
View the legal and technical framework
- The governing framework follows the allegation
- The relevant lease, contract, duty, technical standard and pre-action framework depend on the underlying allegation. The governing framework is identified from the allegation and the facts before a response is constructed, rather than assumed in advance.
- Concessions are difficult to reverse
- An unsupported early concession can become difficult and expensive to correct once it has been relied upon.
- Unanswered opinion
- A technical opinion left unanswered may acquire disproportionate weight in the correspondence, but it does not automatically become established fact.
- Proof, inference and assertion
- Every allegation should be separated into what is proved, what is inferred and what remains unsupported before any response is given.
- The governing framework follows the allegation
- The relevant lease, contract, duty, technical standard and pre-action framework depend on the underlying allegation. The governing framework is identified from the allegation and the facts before a response is constructed, rather than assumed in advance.
- Concessions are difficult to reverse
- An unsupported early concession can become difficult and expensive to correct once it has been relied upon.
- Unanswered opinion
- A technical opinion left unanswered may acquire disproportionate weight in the correspondence, but it does not automatically become established fact.
- Proof, inference and assertion
- Every allegation should be separated into what is proved, what is inferred and what remains unsupported before any response is given.
Resolution
What resolution may look like.
These are the routes the work is intended to make available. Whether any is realistic depends on the lease, contract, works and facts.
- Correction of a factual misunderstanding
- Narrowing the allegation
- A supported technical response
- Agreement on investigation or remedial action
- Negotiation from a defined position
- Escalation with a prepared defence record
What you receive
The output is the product.
The deliverables within Corvinus's control on this matter, subject to the agreed scope.
- 01Allegation Matrix
- 02Evidence Review
- 03Technical Response
- 04Position Paper
- 05Admissions and Reservations Review
- 06Counterargument Analysis
- 07Draft Pre-Litigation Correspondence
- 08Escalation Pack
If the matter does not resolve
Prepared for specialist legal escalation.
Corvinus prepares the allegation matrix, evidence review, technical response and reserved issues for an appropriately authorised lawyer to take forward.
- Allegation matrix and response history
- Evidence review
- Technical response and supporting material
- Admissions and reservations review
- Counterargument analysis
- Briefing for an appropriately authorised lawyer
Common failure points
What goes wrong, and the better route.
Responding in detail immediately
Statements can be made before the record has been checked.
Better route
Acknowledge, seek a reasonable period and test the allegation first.
Ignoring the letter
The other side's account can stand unchallenged in the correspondence.
Better route
Respond within a defined period on a tested basis.
Answering only the parts that are convenient
The unanswered elements become the strongest part of the claim.
Better route
Address each allegation, including those that require reservation.
Common questions
Questions about defending a position.
Other matters
- Consent and alterationsLicence to AlterMove the alteration towards consent.Move the alteration towards consent.Establish what the lease requires, what the works involve, whether the objections and conditions are supported, and what submission or response moves the application forward.Establish what the lease requires, what the works involve, whether the objections and conditions are supported, and what submission or response moves the application forward.
- Consent and alterationsRetrospective ConsentCreate a route to regularisation.Create a route to regularisation.Establish what was built, which consents were required, what evidence exists and what route may be available to regularise or otherwise resolve the position.Establish what was built, which consents were required, what evidence exists and what route may be available to regularise or otherwise resolve the position.
- Construction disputesConstruction DisputesEstablish responsibility and the route to resolution.Establish responsibility and the route to resolution.Reconstruct the project, test the competing accounts and determine what the agreement, technical evidence and documentary record support.Reconstruct the project, test the competing accounts and determine what the agreement, technical evidence and documentary record support.
Present a matter
Test the allegation before responding.
Present the issue first. Corvinus will determine whether the matter is suitable, what information is required and what the proposed scope should address.
Initial enquiry · No obligation to proceed