It frequently comes as a rude surprise to construction industry participants that notice provisions under construction contracts are often strictly enforced by the courts.

There is a lack of recognition that notice provisions under a contract are very specific and are usually narrowly defined. Sending emails advising generally of additional costs, delays and project complaints may be entirely insufficient to constitute notice under a contract.

A great example of this is provided by the court case Campbell Construction Ltd. v. Abstract Construction Inc. The court found that various emails “grumbling” about project issues were not sent to the prescribed email address, and therefore did not constitute notice under the contract.

In this case, Campbell Construction entered into a standard form construction subcontract with Abstract Construction (ACI) to work as a concrete subcontractor on a development project in Victoria. ACI was the general contractor on the project and Abstract Ventures........

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