Time At Large ?

Time at large is a terminology used by scl in their paper eotprotocol

Cherie,

These days it’s a very complicated subject. Very generally it is when the employer delays the contractor from finishing on time and there is no mechanism for extending the completion date for the reason that the employer caused the delay. There may be an extension of time clause but it does not cover that particular cause of delay.

The law then holds that the employer can not insist on the completion date as the employer has prevented the contractor from attaining it, (the prevention principle). As there is no mechanism to set a new completion date, the completion date is at large and the contractor’s time obligations in the contract are replaced by an obligation to complete in a reasonable time. What is a reasonable time will depend on the circumstances of the case.

These days the courts generally try not to set time at large and interpret extension of time clauses pretty liberally in order to avoid doing so. However in doing so, what used to be pretty much black and white circumstances for setting time at large are now very blurred and if at all possible the courts will give the contractor an extension of time rather than set time at large.

All standard forms these days expressly cover "an act of prevention by the employer" in eot clauses so it’s very unlikely it will be possible to set time at large under these. There are still some arguments to be had in some of them though.

Bespoke contracts are more likely not to cover this and that’s where I’ve had most arguments - often when an employer has amended a standard form or a main contractor has done similar to try and impose tighter obligations on their sub contractors than they have in the main contract. Companies from civil law jurisdictions working in a common law jurisdiction under their own standard terms often fall foul also as the civil law system is different.

Generally setting time at large is something that is becoming increasingly harder to do and involves some pretty heavyweight legal arguments these days.

There are also some good papers that can be downloaded from the SCL website on the subject but be careful as these are discussions on the subject and represent possible legal arguments that may apply. They are not always stating the law as it stands today - and it is changing.

Thanks Andrew,

Now I can face anyone who will invoke time at large.

Previously, HE WAS LUNATIC. It happened because he was a good friend of my former boss.

And before someone says it - there are also possibly a couple of other reasons but they are uncommon and pretty obscure. The reason below is the most common scenario you will come across.

Hi Andrew,

Your synopsis is right on the money. If Cherie wants to find out a little bit more Atkinson’s Time At Large article might be useful.

Chris Oggham

Andre, Chris, Cherie, et al,

A good explanation of ’Time at Large’ can be found in my book "Construction Delays; Extensions of Time and Prolongation Claims". The book is now ’on the shelves’ and available from the publishers, Taylor & Francis, and booksellers like Waterstones, Amazon, etc.

I have devoted a whole section to ’The Thorny Issues’, being ’Float, Ownership & Utilization’, ’Concurrency’ ’Acceleration & Mitigation’ and ’Time at Large’. Each one of these issues has its own chapter

Roger Gibson