In industry as in construction, the commercial relationship often comes before the contract: work starts on a quotation, is adjusted as it goes along, and the disagreement is discovered when the final invoice arrives. Documenting the changes is then worth more than the original contract.
We act for industrial companies, main contractors, craftsmen and subcontractors in the Basque Country, Béarn and the Landes, in advisory work as in litigation.
Industry
Sale contracts, contractual warranties, maintenance and repair agreements: parts availability, response times, obligations of result or of means. What separates a covered breakdown from a chargeable one is settled in the drafting, not on the day of the call-out.
Refurbishing a machine, substantially modifying it or importing it shifts liability: whoever places it back on the market may become its manufacturer in the regulatory sense, with conformity and CE marking to bear.
Drilling rigs, plant, tooling: custody, insurance, downtime, return and condition reports. Who answers for damage during the hire is decided in the contract — never after the loss.
Sheet metalwork, machining, parts to drawing: ownership of tooling and drawings, confidentiality of know-how, output rates and exclusivity, the fate of stock and work in progress when the relationship ends.
Accepted before delivery, a retention of title clause remains the most effective way to recover equipment delivered and unpaid, including where the customer is in insolvency proceedings.
Cooperative status, relations between the structure and its member-shareholders, activity commitments, allocation of results and exit terms: cooperative governance follows rules of its own.
Construction and trades
Quotations, general terms, applicable standards, programme, penalties for delay, price revision: it is the contract documents and their order of precedence that settle most disputes over performance.
Acceptance of the subcontractor and approval of its payment terms, direct action against the employer, delegation of payment, guarantee: the law protects the subcontractor, provided it has observed the formalities.
Handover is the major act of the project: it triggers the warranties, transfers custody of the works and starts the time limits running. A tacit or badly formalised handover moves the argument on by years.
The one-year warranty of perfect completion, the two-year warranty of proper working order, the ten-year warranty: how these warranties fit together with compulsory insurance determines who pays, and for how long.
Who the delay is attributable to, bad weather, site instructions, extensions of time: penalties apply only if the delay is attributable to the contractor and if the contractual procedure has been followed.
Unpaid interim applications for payment, retention money, wrongful set-off: we prefer quick measures — an interim payment application, protective measures — before the client’s cash position gets any worse.
Notifying the claim, expert appraisal first by agreement and then by the court, joining everyone involved: our role is to see that no responsible party and no cover is left out of the proceedings.
Contracts, agency labour, posted workers, prevention plans, workplace accidents and inexcusable fault: safety arrangements are documented before the accident, never after.
The right moment
A site instruction written down at the moment the works change costs five minutes. The same change, relied on at the final invoice, is proved by expert report, two years later.
The subject is the same. It is when it is dealt with that makes the cost.
How we work
You set out the situation, we say frankly whether we are the right people and what the work would involve. No commitment at this stage.
It describes what is done, what is not, the basis on which fees are calculated and the timetable. Nothing starts without your written agreement.
One lawyer holds your file; each question is dealt with by whichever of us handles it every day. You have only one person to call.
Formalities, filings, deadlines: the firm takes over and keeps you informed until the file is closed.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, once it identifies the works, the price and the conditions of performance, and has been accepted. The difficulty comes from additional works carried out without a variation: they are payable only if they were ordered, which requires a document in writing or, failing that, proof of unequivocal acceptance.
By first checking whether handover in fact took place and whether snags were recorded, then applying for an interim payment order where the debt is not seriously open to challenge. In parallel, a protective measure secures future recovery.
Yes, by direct action, provided it was accepted and its payment terms approved. Without that acceptance the main contractor incurs liability, but the direct action is closed off: the initial formalities condition everything else.
On handover of the works. That is why the date and the formalisation of the handover, with or without snags recorded, are decisive. Taking possession followed by payment of the balance may amount to a tacit handover, with consequences the parties had not contemplated.
No. They require a contractual clause, a delay attributable to the contractor and compliance with the formalities provided for, in particular the letter before action. The court may also reduce them if they are manifestly excessive.
Report it within the time limits, preserve the physical evidence, document the prevention arrangements immediately and ask your lawyer for assistance before any interview. A finding of inexcusable fault carries considerable financial consequences for the company.
Yes, if they fall outside the contractual scope and have not been the subject of a variation or a site instruction. Carrying on in the hope of regularising later is the scenario that produces the most disputes in this sector.
Practice areas involved
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