Bell Building Limited v TClarke Contracting Limited
[2024] EWHC 1929 (TCC)
Bellway Homes Limited v Surgo Construction Limited
9 January 2024
[2024] EWHC 10 (TCC)
High Court
A company tried to get another company to pay them money based on a judge's decision. The other company said the judge made two decisions instead of one and had no right to make the second. The court said the judge's decision was okay because the original paperwork asked the judge to answer the question in two ways. Therefore, the first company won.
Key Facts
- •Bellway Homes Ltd (Claimant) sought to enforce a £148,431.70 adjudication decision against Surgo Construction Ltd (Defendant).
- •The adjudication decision awarded the Claimant the sum based on a 'true value' assessment after finding the initial 'smash and grab' claim invalid.
- •The Defendant challenged the adjudication decision on jurisdictional grounds: (i) multiple disputes were referred without consent; (ii) the adjudicator exceeded jurisdiction by determining 'true value' after rejecting the 'smash and grab' claim.
- •The contract included provisions for interim payments and adjudication.
Legal Principles
A careful characterisation of the dispute referred is necessary in jurisdictional challenges, considering the underlying factual background.
Witney v Beam Construction [2011] EWHC 2332
The word 'dispute' should be given its ordinary English meaning, with a wide interpretation to preserve the adjudicator's jurisdiction.
Coulson on Construction Adjudication, 7.100 – 7.101
A single dispute is referred if the claim, containing several elements, can be described as a single, disputed claim for a sum due.
Coulson on Construction Adjudication, 7.123
The adjudicator's jurisdiction is determined by the terms of the notice of adjudication; they must only decide the issues referred.
Pentan v Spartafield [2016] EWHC 317 (TCC); McAlpine v Transco [2004] BLR 352 QBD (TCC)
Courts should be wary of excess of jurisdiction arguments, except in the plainest of cases.
Carillion v Devonport [2005] EWCA Civ 1358
The use of 'or such other amount' cannot be stretched to encompass claims for unliquidated damages.
Stellite v Vascroft [2016] BLR 402 QBD (TCC)
Outcomes
The Claimant's application for summary judgment succeeded.
The court found that only one dispute was referred, concerning the sums due under the payment application. The adjudicator's determination of 'true value' was within jurisdiction, as it was an alternative route explicitly requested in the referral notice.