Neil Mason

Overview

I am a Senior Associate in Michelmores’ Construction and Engineering team.

I specialise in resolving construction disputes during the procurement, design, construction or the management of buildings and infrastructure. I have acted for employers (both public and private sector) and contractors and subcontractors in a variety of sectors. I have worked on disputes relating to residential developments, hotels, warehouses, car parks, hospitals, prisons and landscaping. The disputes I help to resolve often concern defective design or workmanship (including structural, mechanical and engineering), delay, payment and professional negligence. I achieve dispute resolution through negotiation, mediation, adjudication, litigation or arbitration – to force a resolution where necessary.

These disputes are complex, and I enjoy assembling and working with teams of experts to ensure clients receive the right advice to get workable solutions for their businesses. I often work collaboratively with Michelmores’ Projects, Property Litigation, and Commercial teams to ensure I get the remedies my clients need.

Michelmores’ commitment to helping clients achieve their ESG ambitions means I am looking forward to resolving construction disputes arising from breaches of environmental obligations, such as those relating to controlling carbon emissions, which increasingly feature in construction contracts.

Recent experience

Acting for a specialist subcontractor against the main contractor in relation to breach of payment terms in a subcontract governed by an amended SPC 2000 form, governing the client’s penultimate application for payment before completion

Acting for a high-net-worth individual in their claims against an architect who wrongly recommended contractors, negligently certified sums for payment and failed to review the faulty designs of others. This resulted in an acceptable settlement with the architect’s insurers at mediation

Acting for an SME in its claim against a construction manager who mis-managed trade contractors, resulting in the client’s project budget being exceeded. This also resulted in an acceptable settlement at mediation

Acting for a Project Company in its dispute with a contractor under Private Finance Initiative arrangements, in relation to multiple construction defects, which involved working with a variety of experts to ensure the client was appropriately advised to guide the dispute towards a negotiated settlement

Advising an energy company when the construction and commissioning of one its peaking power plants was delayed, resulting in a claim for delay and performance damages under a FIDIC-based EPC contract, which was settled on favourable terms for our client