Omar has experience of the full spectrum of construction and engineering disputes, ranging from minor residential building works to commercial premises and larger, more complex, infrastructure projects. He is familiar with the major standard forms of construction contract, including the JCT, NEC3 and FIDIC suites, and the various issues that frequently arise on projects, including payment disputes, delay and disruption, and defective design or workmanship.
ADJUDICATION
Omar assists throughout adjudications, drafting submissions and assisting with the preparation of evidence. He is often instructed as sole counsel on payment and notice disputes, as well as final account and defects claims. He acts as part of a larger counsel team in very high value or complex disputes, By way of example, Omar acted for the employer in a high-value final account adjudication concerning the design and construction of airport crew facilities in England.
Omar also has experience of High Court proceedings related to adjudication, including the summary judgment and Part 8 procedures:
- Instructed as junior counsel on behalf of a local authority in a Part 8 claim for a declaration that an adjudicator had acted without jurisdiction because more than one dispute had been referred. (TCC, London).
- Instructed as sole counsel seeking summary enforcement of an adjudicator’s decision, which was resisted on the basis of allegations that claims had been fraudulently submitted. (TCC, Birmingham).
- Instructed as sole counsel seeking summary judgment on an adjudicator’s decision, which was resisted on grounds that there was no express right to adjudication under the contract. (TCC, London).
ARBITRATION
A significant proportion of Omar’s practice concerns arbitration, both domestic and international. He recently acted as assistant to the tribunal in a SIAC arbitration (see Energy and Natural Resources, above). Examples of his work in this area are:
- Appeared as junior counsel on behalf of the employer in an UNCITRAL arbitration concerning the termination of a contract for the design and construction of a process plant. (Dubai seat, Eritrean law).
- Instructed as junior counsel for a local authority defending a substantial final account claim under a contract for the renovation of a public park. (English seat, English law).
- Instructed as junior counsel for a contractor claiming an extension of time and time-related costs in relation to the construction of a luxury office and residential tower in Dubai. (Dubai seat, UAE law).
- Instructed as junior counsel in a sub-contractor’s claim for payment under a contract for the construction of a cruise terminal in Hong Kong (Hong Kong seat and law).
LITIGATION
Omar has advised and acted at all stages of the litigation process. Examples of his construction litigation work include:
- Instructed as junior counsel on behalf of a Dutch property developer defending a final account claim in respect of a contract for demolition works carried out as part of a luxury hotel project in central London.
- Instructed as junior counsel in a claim for sums due under a contract for the renovation of a high-end residential property in London, met with counterclaims for alleged defective work.