Welcome to the Spring edition of In Site. This edition covers the following topics:

- A brief overview of the “Jackson cost reforms” to civil litigation which came into force on 1 April 2013

- A note of the new NEC3 forms published on 22 April

- Changes to the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 which came into effect on 16 March 2013

- Foreseeability of loss and the decision in John Grimes Partnership Ltd v Gubbins

- “Good Faith” obligations: the decisions in Yam Seng PTE Ltd v International Trade Corporation Ltd and the appeal in the Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust case

- Westfields Construction Ltd v Clive Lewis: the residential occupier exemption in s 106 of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996

- Enforceability of tiered ADR clauses.

- Excerpt from “Jackson cost reforms”:

The majority of Lord Justice Jackson’s civil litigation costs reforms came into effect on 1 April 2013. They are, in his own words, intended to be “a coherent package of interlocking reforms, designed to control costs and promote access to justice”. Changes have been made to many facets of the civil litigation structure, and although the changes are expected to be felt most strongly in personal injury litigation, this note looks briefly at some of the key changes likely to impact on construction and engineering disputes in the Technology and Construction Court (TCC).