Next there is a contribution from the United States, covering recent cases from the State courts of California and the Federal 9th Circuit (at page 150). Mr Nathan D O'Malley, a partner at Gibbs Giden Locher Turner Senet & Wittbrodt LLP, Los Angeles, reports on two cases affecting risk mitigation in construction contracts. First, following the Californian decision in Brisbane Lodging LP v Webcor Builders Inc (2013) 216 Cal App 4th 1249 the author considers the contractual modification to a legal doctrine relating to limitations on liability for latent defects. Second, in light of the 9th Circuit Court decision of Oracle America Inc v Myriad Group AG (2013) 724 F 3d 1069, Mr O'Malley examines risk mitigation in the context of arbitral clauses. He concludes that in both cases, the various jurisdictions within the United States of America are aligning on these issues in favour of freedom of contract, allowing parties to contract out of some of the particularities of United States law. We welcome Mr O'Malley to the ranks of Correspondents to cover the Western Regions of the USA. He has extensive experience of international construction and arbitration. In 2010 he wrote for us “An Annotated Commentary on the 2010 revised Rules of Evidence for International Arbitration” ([2010] ICLR 463) and his later book on the same subject.

We then have a paper which was considered and approved by our Peer-Review Advisory Board, which recommended it to us for publication. We are very pleased to include it in this issue. Papers for consideration by the Peer-Review Advisory Board should first be submitted to the Editors-in-Chief from whom (or the publishers) information about the scheme may be obtained. The paper is by Dr Devin S Lin: “A Leapfrog Attempted: Unjust Enrichment, Implied Contract and Quistclose Trust — Recent Development on Direct Payment Claims by Nominated Sub-contractors” (at page 159).