This blog post may be of interest to our clients involved in construction adjudications in England and Wales. Under s108(1) of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (E&W) (Act) a party to a construction contract has the right to refer a dispute to adjudication. As reference to ‘dispute’ is in the singular, each matter referred consists of one dispute unless the parties otherwise agree. However, a dispute can contain multiple sub-issues, for example, a dispute concerning several variations.

An issue sometimes arises where a Referring Party makes a claim by arguing that (1) a valid payment…

As we approach the end of 2023, we look back at the main developments in relation to adjudication. The year saw further clarity brought to the Construction Contracts Act 2013 (the ‘Act’) with the High Court delivering judgment in three cases concerning adjudication. There is undoubted support from the High Court regarding the adjudication process.

The year saw something for all involved in adjudication. Parties to the adjudication process can have confidence that should enforcement proceedings be necessary, the court will deal with enforcement swiftly. In one matter the enforcement procedure took under one month from start to finish.…

The Technology and Construction Court in England and Wales recently dealt with an interesting point in relation to the enforcement of an adjudicator’s decision in favour of a dormant company. The judgment may be of interest to those involved in adjudication in Ireland as it demonstrates the issues that can arise with dormant companies in the context of adjudication.

In WRB (NI) Limited v Henry Construction Projects Limited [2023] EWHC 278 (TCC), the parties entered a construction contract in relation to a development in North London. Henry Construction Projects Limited (‘Henry’) was the main contractor and engaged WRB…

The NEC suite of contracts are becoming more widespread in Ireland; therefore, it is of interest when the courts in England and Wales provide clarification on their interpretation. Under NEC if a party is not satisfied with an adjudicator’s decision, it may within four weeks of the decision issue a notice of dissatisfaction to the other party, otherwise the adjudicator’s decision becomes final and binding.

On occasion an issue may arise as to whether the notice of dissatisfaction is valid. This is what happened in Ravestein BV v Trant Engineering Limited [2023] EWHC 11 (TCC). In Ravestein the parties entered…

When adjudication was first introduced in the United Kingdom, some were sceptical about its prospects. However, shortly after the introduction of adjudication, in Macob Civil Engineering Ltd v Morrison Construction Limited,[1] the courts gave support to the process and since then adjudication has become a mainstay for resolving construction disputes. Indeed, more recently the Supreme Court of England and Wales in Bresco Electrical Services Limited (in Liquidation) v Lonsdale[2] has noted that although adjudication is one of a spectrum of dispute resolution mechanisms which range from negotiation at one end, through to mediation and arbitration / litigation…

On 17 August 2023, the Irish High Court delivered judgment in K&J Townmore Construction Limited v Keogh [2023] IEHC 509. The key question for the court was whether a challenge to an adjudicator’s jurisdiction should take place before the adjudication process, by way of judicial review, or after the adjudication process, by way of enforcement proceedings under the Construction Contracts Act 2013 (Act).

The court considered that the case raised a matter of significant public importance, namely: can the legislature’s intention of creating an alternative to litigation be thwarted by one party subjecting the adjudication process to litigation…

On 11 August 2023, the Irish High Court delivered judgment enforcing two adjudicator’s decisions in  DNCG Ltd v Genus Homes Ltd [2023] IEHC 490. Central to the judgment is a consideration of whether an adjudicator is under a positive obligation to request further and better particulars in relation to the positions advanced by the parties. The court confirmed that adjudication is not an iterative process, and that an adjudicator is not under a positive obligation to invite the parties to elaborate upon their submissions to shore up their positions.

Background

The works, the subject matter of the adjudications, reached substantial…

Introduction

Once a notice of referral is served by a referring party, a responding party will be under significant pressure given the extremely tight timeframe for an adjudication.

The process is also open to a situation where the referring party serves a notice of referral to adjudication at a time that makes quick turnaround more challenging for the responding party, for example on a Friday evening or before a holiday period such as Easter or Christmas, in an attempt to gain advantage. This tactic if often referred to as an “ambush adjudication”.

It is therefore critical that, in the event…