Matters / Construction disputes
Establish what is properly due.
Payment Disputes
Corvinus separates valuation from payment entitlement, identifies the contractual and any applicable statutory mechanism, and reconciles the work, variations, notices, payments and account.
What Corvinus does
What Corvinus does on this matter.
The work within Corvinus's control, subject to the agreed scope.
- 01Identifies the contract and the payment mechanism that governs the account.
- 02Establishes the status and validity of applications, notices and pay-less notices.
- 03Values the completed, incomplete, varied and disputed work.
- 04Reconciles the account and defines the position at the relevant date.
Typical situations
- An application or invoice has gone unpaid
- A pay-less notice has been served or missed
- Variations are disputed or unpriced
- Retention has not been released
- The final account cannot be agreed
Typical situations
- An application or invoice has gone unpaid
- A pay-less notice has been served or missed
- Variations are disputed or unpriced
- Retention has not been released
- The final account cannot be agreed
How it is examined
How the matter is examined.
- 01
Identify the mechanism
Establish the contract, the payment terms and whether a statutory regime applies.
- 02
Map the notices
Build the chronology of applications, payment notices and pay-less notices.
- 03
Value the work
Value completed, incomplete, varied and disputed work under the applicable mechanism.
- 04
Reconcile the account
Set the valuation, payments, retention and deductions against the sum claimed.
The difficulty
Why the matter becomes difficult.
The amount that is properly valued and the amount that is payable at a given date are not always the same. Contractual mechanisms, notices, variations, retention and set-off can move the position independently of the underlying work.
What Corvinus establishes
What is established before any position is advanced.
- 01
The payment mechanism
The applicable contract and the payment mechanism it sets.
- 02
Statutory application
Whether a statutory construction-payment regime applies to the contract.
- 03
Notice position
The status and validity of applications, notices and pay-less notices.
- 04
Valuation
The scope and valuation of completed, incomplete, varied or defective work.
- 05
Account movements
Payments made, retention, deductions and set-off issues.
- 06
Sum due against value
The distinction between a notified sum and the underlying proper valuation.
- 07
What is needed next
The account or evidence needed for resolution or specialist legal advice.
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 contract is the starting point
- The contract governs valuation, applications, due dates, final dates for payment, notices, variations, retention and final-account treatment.
- Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996, Part II
- Where Part II applies, statutory payment and adjudication requirements may affect the amount due at a particular time.
- The statutory regime is not universal
- The regime does not apply to every arrangement. Section 106 includes a residential-occupier exclusion for qualifying contracts, and other questions of statutory scope may arise.
- Notified sum and true value
- Where the applicable contractual or statutory notice regime has not been followed, the notified sum may become payable even though the underlying valuation remains disputed. Whether that occurs depends on the contract, the notices and the facts.
- Final accounts
- A final account must be established using the valuation mechanism in the applicable contract. It is not a simple measurement exercise in every case.
- The contract is the starting point
- The contract governs valuation, applications, due dates, final dates for payment, notices, variations, retention and final-account treatment.
- Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996, Part II
- Where Part II applies, statutory payment and adjudication requirements may affect the amount due at a particular time.
- The statutory regime is not universal
- The regime does not apply to every arrangement. Section 106 includes a residential-occupier exclusion for qualifying contracts, and other questions of statutory scope may arise.
- Notified sum and true value
- Where the applicable contractual or statutory notice regime has not been followed, the notified sum may become payable even though the underlying valuation remains disputed. Whether that occurs depends on the contract, the notices and the facts.
- Final accounts
- A final account must be established using the valuation mechanism in the applicable contract. It is not a simple measurement exercise in every case.
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.
- Reconciled interim or final account
- Corrected payment application or response
- Agreement on variations and omissions
- Clarification of the amount due at the relevant date
- Negotiated payment arrangement
- Preparation for adjudication or other legal escalation by appropriately qualified professionals
What you receive
The output is the product.
The deliverables within Corvinus's control on this matter, subject to the agreed scope.
- 01Contract and Payment Mechanism Analysis
- 02Notice Chronology
- 03Account Reconciliation
- 04Variation Schedule
- 05Valuation Issues Schedule
- 06Payment Position Paper
- 07Draft Pre-Litigation Correspondence
- 08Specialist Legal Briefing
If the matter does not resolve
Prepared for specialist legal escalation.
Corvinus prepares the payment mechanism analysis, notice chronology, account reconciliation and valuation position for an appropriately qualified adjudication or legal specialist.
- Contract and payment mechanism analysis
- Notice chronology
- Account reconciliation and variation schedule
- Valuation issues schedule
- Payment position paper
- Briefing for a suitably authorised or qualified specialist
Common failure points
What goes wrong, and the better route.
Arguing value instead of mechanism
The payable sum at the relevant date can be decided by notices rather than valuation.
Better route
Establish the mechanism and the notice position alongside the valuation.
Unpriced variations
Additional work becomes contested at the final account.
Better route
Schedule and value each variation against the contract mechanism.
Set-off asserted without evidence
A deduction can be challenged and the position weakened.
Better route
Evidence and quantify each deduction before it is applied.
Common questions
Questions about payment disputes.
Other matters
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Present a matter
Establish what is properly due.
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