Cases - Britcon (Scunthorpe) v Lincolnfields Ltd

Record details

Name
Britcon (Scunthorpe) v Lincolnfields Ltd
Date
(2001); [2001]
Citation
EWHC (TCC) HT 01/259
Legislation
Keywords
Construction contracts - adjudication - adjudicator's decision - jurisdiction - extent of jurisdiction - referral notice - whether adjudicator failed to consider evidence submitted to him - whether decision enforceable
Summary

Britcon was seeking to enforce the decision of an adjudicator. The adjudication arose out of infrastructure works being carried out by Britcon for Lincolnfields as main contractors. The adjudicator's decision was to the effect that a sum of £260,000 plus VAT and interest should be paid to Britcon.

Lincolnsfields sought to defend the application for summary judgment on the basis that the adjudicator had acted outside his jurisdiction by failing to consider and give effect to material that had been submitted to the adjudicator by Lincolnsfields.

Lincolnsfields had argued during the course of the adjudication that the parties had entered into an oral collateral contract to modify the payment provisions of the contract. During the enforcement proceedings Lincolnsfields argued that the adjudicator had not decided on this issue and therefore his decision was unenforceable.

The judge concluded, as a matter of fact and from a review of the adjudicator's reasons, that he had fairly and squarely dealt with the matters referred to him.

For those reasons the judge rejected the contention of Lincolnsfields that the decision that the adjudicator had reached lacked jurisdiction.