Construction litigation

French construction law covers all the rules relating to the construction process.There are numerous protagonists involved:

• Architects
• Technical consultants (“Bureau d’études”)
• Control office (“Bureau de contrôle”)
• Construction economists
• Chartered surveyors
• Insurance companies
• Construction companies
• Etc.

The multiplicity of protagonists as well as the complexity of technical rules, the vagaries of construction sites can lead to disputes which usually relate to:

• Construction defects
• The duty to provide advice and information
• 10 year guarantee insurance
• Civil professional liability insurance
• Disputes between contractors
• Site abandonments
• Liability of sub-contractors
• Formal handover of the construction

Given the technical nature of the issues raised a French Court would usual appoint a single judicial expert.

The expert appointed by the Court is a technician whose mission is defined by the Court and who will carry out investigations in the presence of all the parties to the proceedings.

The parties will be able to make written observations.

The expertise stage is vital and should not be neglected as French Court often tend to follow the expert’s findings.

At the end of the expertise proceedings the judicial expert will file a report with the Court setting out his/her findings, and apportioning liability.

Thereafter the matter will be remitted to the Court for discussion on the merits of the case.

Triplet can assist at every step of the expertise procedure, and thereafter before the Courts, providing expert advice in English and in a manner understandable to those of a non-French culture.