FK Construction Limited v ISG Retail Limited
[2023] EWHC 1042 (TCC)
ISG Retail Ltd v FK Construction Ltd
28 May 2024
[2024] EWHC 1713 (TCC)
High Court
Two construction companies had a dispute. A judge decided one company owed the other money, but made a mistake calculating the amount. Another judge fixed the mistake, reducing the amount owed. This was allowed because the initial mistake was obvious and resulted in one company getting much more money than they deserved.
Key Facts
- •ISG Retail Ltd (ISG) sought summary enforcement of an adjudicator's decision against FK Construction Ltd (FK).
- •The adjudication concerned two categories of work: 'pallet store defects' and 'rooflight works'.
- •FK raised a natural justice objection and challenged the adjudicator's damage calculation for the rooflight works.
- •FK had already issued a Part 8 claim challenging the adjudicator's decision.
- •The adjudicator awarded ISG £191,740.86 for pallet store defects and £370,180 for rooflight works.
- •FK argued the adjudicator double-counted costs in calculating damages for the rooflight works.
Legal Principles
An error by an adjudicator will not ordinarily affect enforcement of his decision.
Constable J in Home Group Ltd v MPS Housing Limited [2023] EWHC 1946 (TCC)
To resist summary judgment based on a Part 8 claim, the defendant must show: (a) a short, self-contained issue; (b) the issue requires no oral evidence beyond the hearing; and (c) it would be unconscionable to ignore the issue.
Coulson J in Hutton Construction Ltd v Wilson Properties (London) Ltd [2017] EWHC 517 (TCC)
The court can correct an incontrovertible error in an adjudicator's approach to damage quantification on a summary judgment application.
Hutton Construction Ltd v Wilson Properties (London) Ltd [2017] EWHC 517 (TCC)
Outcomes
Summary judgment granted in part for ISG.
The court found an incontrovertible error in the adjudicator's calculation of damages for the rooflight works, correcting it by reducing the award from £370,180 to £120,713.06. The court deemed this correctable error under the exceptions in *Hutton*.
FK's Part 8 claim was not consolidated with ISG's Part 7 claim.
The judge decided to address the matter within the summary judgment application and did not require consolidation.
Costs awarded to ISG
Costs followed the event.
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