Cases - Bridge UK.Com Ltd v Abbey Pynford plc

Record details

Name
Bridge UK.Com Ltd v Abbey Pynford plc
Date
[2007]
Citation
EWHC 728 (TCC)
Keywords
Construction claim - loss and expense claim - damages - managerial expenses - loss of profit - valuation - quantification - written records - estimate - approximation - loss of revenue - causation
Summary

The defendant contracted to construct the foundations to the claimant's premises, which were to be of sufficient strength to support a printing press weighing 62 tonnes. As a result of various defects in the floor, the defendant's works were not completed in time. The claimant claimed its costs and losses incurred as a result of this delay, amongst which was a claim for £7,680.00 as management time incurred in dealing with the problems caused by the defendant's defective performance.

The Court confirmed that the retrospective assessment of the management time spent represented a valid method of calculation, agreeing that in the absence of records, evidence in the form of an assessment made from memory was acceptable. However, Ramsay J noted that such an estimate was necessarily approximate, and thus applied a discount of 20 per cent to the sum claimed to allow for its inherent uncertainty. He also reiterated the importance of showing that the time lost would have otherwise generated revenue for the claimant.