C

A stage in building works when a building (or a part of a building) contains only a basic functioning core and services and an incomplete interior.  Fitout works such as air conditioning, lighting and electrical, ceilings, walls, fixtures, fittings and completion of services are required to complete the interior.

An insurance policy providing coverage for claims made during the period of insurance, regardless of when the event which gave rise to the claim occurred.  Most professional indemnity insurance policies are claims-made policies.

The office of a barrister or judge.

A Defendant may bring a cross-claim against a Plaintiff or third parties in an action before the court. A cross-claim should be pleaded in the existing action if it arises out of the same facts or transactions as the Plaintiff's claims. A Defendant's cross-claim against a third party need not be related to the subject matter of the Plaintiff's claim. A third party to the proceedings can also bring a further cross-claim against the original Defendant and/or the original Plaintiff. (See also Counter-claim)

A cross indemnity clause requires two or more contracting parties to indemnify each other for loss or damage arising out of similar breaches or circumstances. For example, the cross indemnity clause may require the Principal to indemnify the Contractor for claims for personal injury caused by a person for whose conduct the Principal is responsible, with a reciprocal indemnity from the Contractor to the Principal requiring the Contractor to indemnify the Principal for claims for personal injury caused by a person for whose conduct the Contractor is responsible.

A Contract where the Contractor is paid the actual cost of work undertaken, plus a percentage over and above those costs on account of margin and preliminaries. These contracts can be used when the total amount payable to the Contractor cannot be determined at the time of entering into the Contract, or the scope of work is unknown, and the Principal takes the risk of that cost. The use of Cost-Plus contracts is regulated by domestic building legislation in many States.

A court order against the unsuccessful party in litigation to pay all costs incurred in the proceedings by the successful party. What is to be included in the costs is at the discretion of the court but will generally include the successful party's legal expenses and other related costs.

An analysis of acquisition costs, construction costs, finance costs and other costs on a periodic basis (usually monthly and against the project budget) to ascertain how much has been spent on works and how much remains to be spent before a project achieves practical completion.

A claim by a Defendant against a Plaintiff, raised in response to, but not in defence of the Plaintiff's primary claim.

In programming a construction project or any inter-related set of activities, required tasks are linked together in chains of 'dependencies' which reflect the sequence in which they must be done (such as first laying foundations, then building the walls, then painting). The sequential chain which will take longest to finish is the critical path and is used to estimate the time within which Practical Completion can be achieved.