Law & Contractual Procedures

Law & contractual procedures QS/
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Acknowledgement
First and foremost I wish to pay my gratitude to my lecturer Mr. M.I.M. Azver for his
valuable and kind advices and support and this individual assignment, class activity and
presentation on Laws and Contractual Procedures aided me in the field of QUANTITY
SURVEYING being a student. Further I should thank the teaching panel of the BCAS
Academy for their guidance, theory and practical inputs which helped me in designing and
formulating this assignment. They opened the gates for the fundamentals of QS. The study of
Laws and Contractual Procedures gives me a great confidence for my present as well as
future career as a Quantity Surveyor. My heartiest thanks also go to my mother, for her love
and affection, understanding and her support".
I understood that Laws and Contractual Procedures plays a very important role in the
field of quantity surveying and also it is compulsory in this respective field to become a
Quantity Surveyor. It gives me a great pleasure in submitting this assignment. The knowledge
gained from the previous semesters too helped me to complete this assignment successfully
and in a better way.
Mr. Haseeb, Manager of Quantity surveying department and the course coordinator &
the gem of assessor for Laws and Contractual Procedures, satisfied the entire students
through his good guidance & he is very kindly. Our English Language Teaching Unit
(ELTU) should also not be forgotten to thank for the great effort taken by them to build up a
basic capacity in QS

Law & contractual procedures QS/
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Introduction
Low & contractual procedures is the process of establishing good mechanisms for the
construction. This explains various procurement methods and conditions of contract. The
selection of a procurement method is the prominent role in the construction industry. It
depends on client objective and the size of the project etc. The quantity Surveyors, therefore,
play a major role in the constructions industry i.e. from designing part of the client’s
objective to completing the project.
Further, the quantity surveyors have an important role to perform in building procurement
selection and need to market and develop their skills. Also he participates in selecting
contractor and nominating subcontractors and suppliers. Once the project started, he should
prepare interim valuations. Finally he issues the final certificate after the practical completion
of the project.

Law & contractual procedures QS/
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Contents
Introduction...............................................................................................01
Acknowledgement .......................................................................................02
Contents...................................................................................................03
Task 01
Task 1.1....................................................................................Presentation 04
Task 1.2................................................................................................05-08
Task 1.3.............................................................................................CRA 09
Task 02
Task 2.1................................................................................................10-14
Task 2.2................................................................................................15-18
Task 2.3.............................................................................................CRA 19
Task 03
Task 3.1................................................................................................20-23
Task 3.2................................................................................................24-28
Task 04
Task 4.1....................................................................................Presentation 29
Task 4.2................................................................................................30-34

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Conclusion.................................................................................................35
Reference..................................................................................................36
Task 01
Task 1.1
Discuss the types of nuisance and explain what measures could be useful in order to
avoid nuisance in the construction process.
(Presentation)

Law & contractual procedures QS/
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Task 1.2 Critically analyze given Scenario 1 with the support of principles
of consideration and discuss William v. Roffey Bros. & Nicholls
(Contractors) Ltd (1991) 1Q.B.1
Definitions of consideration
A valuable consideration, in the sense of the law, may consist either in some right, interest,
profit or benefit accruing to one party or some forbearance, detriment, loss or responsibility,
given, suffered or undertaken by the other.
Consideration means something which is of some value in the eye of the law, moving from
the plaintiff; it may be some detriment to the plaintiff or some benefit to the defendant, but at
all events it must be moving from the plaintiff.
Nature of Consideration
The bargain theory of contract suggests that a contract is essentially an agreement between
parties where each gets something in return for his or her promise. If this is the case, then
every promise by an offer or to do something must be conditional. The promise must include
a provision that the offered, by conveying acceptance, will promise something to the offeror.
The “something” that the promisor receives in return for the promise’s promise is called
consideration an essential element of every simple contract. Consideration can take many
forms. It may be a payment of money, the performance of particular service, a promise not to
do something by the promise, the relinquishment of a right, the delivery of property, or a
many other things, including a promise in return for the Promise. However, in every case, the
consideration must be something done with respect to the promise offered by the promisor.

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Unless a promisor gets something in return for his or her Promise, the promise is merely
gratuitous. Generally, consideration for a promise must exist for the contract to be legally
binding.
Adequacy of Consideration
In general, the courts are not concerned about the adequacy of consideration because they are
Reluctant to become involved in deciding the fairness of the price or value that a person
receives for a promise. Apart from the requirement that the consideration be legal, their main
concerns are with the presence or absence of consideration, rather than whether the promisor
received proper compensation for his or her promise. In some cases, however, the courts will
look more closely at the adequacy of the consideration. If the promisor can satisfy the court
that the promise was made under unusual circumstances (such as where an error occurred that
rendered the consideration totally inadequate in relation to the promise made), the courts may
intervene.
Seal as Consideration
A major exception to the requirement for consideration in a contract is a device that was used
by the courts to enforce promises long before modern contract law emerged. This particular
device is the use of a seal on a written contract. In the past, a written agreement would be
forced by the court if the promisor had placed his seal on the document. The general thinking
of the judges of the day was that any person who affixed a seal to a document containing
promise to do something had given the matter considerable thought, and the act of affixing
the seal symbolized the intention to be bound by the agreement. This particular method of
establishing an agreement, this ritual, distinguished the formal contract from the ordinary or
simple contract that may or may not be in writing. Today, most formal legal documents that
require a seal either have the seal printed on the form or have a small gummed wafer attached
to the form by the party who prepares the document before it is signed by the promisor. The
binding effect of a formal contract under seal, however, persists today. The courts will not
normally look behind a contract under seal to determine if consideration exists.
In spite of its ancient roots, the contract under seal is a useful form of contract today. For
Example, where parties wish to enforce a gratuitous promise, the expression of the promise in
writing with the signature of the promisor and a seal affixed is the usual method used. Many
formal agreements still require a special form and execution under seal to be valid. For

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example, in some provinces where the Registry System applies to land transfers, the law may
require a conveyance of land to be in accordance with a particular form, as well as signed,
Sealed, and delivered to affect the transfer of the property interest to the grantee. A power of
attorney in some provinces must also be executed under seal to authorize an attorney to deal
with a grantor’s land. Corporations also may use a seal containing the corporation’s name to
sign formal documents. It should be noted, however, that not all corporations are required to
have seals. Under some business corporations’ statutes formal documents need only be
signed by the proper officers of the corporation. The general trend has been to eliminate the
need for business corporations to use seals to execute such documents as contracts.
William’s v Roffey Bros. & Nicholls (Contractors) Ltd. (1991)
Roffey Bros. was contracted by Shepherds Bush Housing Association to refurbish 27 flats in
London. They subcontracted carpentry to Lester Williams for £20,000 payable in
installments. Some work was done and £16,200 was paid at which point Williams ran into
financial difficulty as the price was too low. Roffey Bros. was going to be liable under a
penalty clause for late completion, so they had a meeting on 9 April 1986 and promised an
extra £575 per flat for on time completion. Williams did eight flats and stopped because he
had only received £1,500. New carpenters were brought in to complete the work and
Williams claimed. He was awarded £3,500 at the lower court, which was appealed by Roffey
Bros.
Judgment:- Glidewell LJ held Williams had provided good consideration even though he
was merely performing a pre-existing duty. Williams got £3,500 (not full expectation
damages). He said that the idea of promissory estoppels was not properly argued and ‘not yet
been fully developed the concept of economic duress provided an answer to Stilk’s old
problem. The test for understanding whether a contract could legitimately be varied was set
out as follows.
If A has a contract with B for work, before it is done, A has reason to believe B may not
be able to complete. A promises B to pay more, A ‘obtains in practice a benefit, or
obviates a disbenefit from giving the promise and there is no economic duress or fraud

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The practical benefit of timely completion, even though a pre-existing duty is performed,
constitutes good consideration.
He noted that Roffey Bros’ employee, Mr. Cottrell had felt the original price to be less than
reasonable, and there was a further need to replace the ‘haphazard method of payment by a
more formalized scheme’ of money per flat. "True it was that the plaintiff did not undertake
to do any work additional to that which he had originally undertaken to do but the terms upon
which he was to carry out the work were varied and, in my judgment, that variation was
supported by consideration which a pragmatic approach to the true relationship between the
parties readily demonstrates. (Purchas LJ concurred with Glidewell LJ) [12].
So the given scenario also talks about the same situation. In this case the main contractor
appoints a sub contractor to do joinery work and agree to pay Rs. 2,000,000 and then
contractor reviewer recognized that the work that has to de perform will be higher the agreed
sum. So to avoid paying price to the client, due to delay in construction. So the main
contractor promised the subcontractor to pay Rs. 400,000 as an extra payment. And asked
him to finish the work as early as probable. So beyond his sub contractor obligation he
finished the work and handed over to the main contractor and the main contractor handed
over the project to the client and he got all his payment, and he is now refused to pay the
promised amount to the subcontractor.
When we look at the both cases, both are same type. The sub contractor has not received his
promised payment but in William v. Roffey Bros. & Nicholls contractor’s Ltd (1991) 1Q.B.1
case, the court of request upheld that decision of judge that this promise was enforceable.
Because, that reflection is benefiting the main contractor. So that promise became the
consideration and went beyond the obligation. So the case can be enforceable. So by looking
at the both cases, as a conclusion I can advise the sub contractor that this promise can be
enforceable in the court, because this will come under the category of factual benefit of
promise. And the promise has got actual benefit from that promise. And also the initial
obligation also invalidated at the time of agreeing to the promised work. That means if the
sub contractor agrees to accelerate the work, this could amount to be a good consideration. So
by consideration, a new contract has been formed between main contractor and the sub
contractor.