We are sad to report the passing of John Redmond last week. Those of you who knew John found him to be an incisive excellent lawyer, practical and always helpful and kind to those he met. John’s career was focused on construction law since 1976. In his role as head of construction first at Laytons and subsequently Osborne Clarke he represented main contractors, large sub-contractors and building owners in all forms of dispute resolution in the UK and Internationally. His cases included projects as diverse as the refurbishment of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, the construction of Dublin Port Tunnel, Docklands Light Railway, hospitals, prisons, hotels, waste to energy plants and wind farms. John’s cases include Tesco Stores Ltd. v Costain Construction Ltd & Ors [2003] EWHC 1487; (TCC) CILL 2062 TCC dealing with limitation issues in negligence and Birse Construction Ltd v Eastern Telegraph Company Ltd [2004] EWHC 2512 (TCC); 47 EG 164 TCC which looked at the measure of damage in defects claims.
As an arbitrator he had dealt with construction disputes since admission to the Chartered Institute Panel in 1994. He was also one of the very first Adjudicators to act under the statutory adjudication process introduced in 1998 and handled over 200 adjudications. He sat on institutional panels of adjudicators maintained by several adjudicator appointing bodies such as the RICS and TeCSA. John was author of Adjudication in Construction Contracts published in 2001.
He was appointed as Expert by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) for expertise proceedings about a motorway construction project in Nigeria. He was an accredited mediator (CIArb) and mediated disputes of all sizes, including cases involving multiple parties. He acted as Expert in Expert Determinations and as Chair of a Dispute Adjudication Board in FIDIC contracts. John was Chair of the Society of Construction Law in 1996 to 1998.
John was, in short, an excellent role model for all of us. He will be very much missed as the consummate professional and a great friend to many.
Hamish Lal
Chair, The Adjudication Society