Cases - Kensington & Chelsea & Westminster v Wettern Composites

Record details

Name

Kensington & Chelsea & Westminster v Wettern Composites

Date

[1984]

Citation

134 NLJ 887

Keywords

Contract administration

Summary

The claimant engaged (as independent contractors) the defendant architects and engineers on the project to extend a hospital. It also employed (as its servant) a clerk of works. The ordinary standard of skill and care expected of an architect must be judged with regard to any special circumstances in the case.

Although the clerk of works had been negligent in overlooking certain defects, this did not reduce the architect's liability to use reasonable skill and care to ensure conformity with design as opposed to matters of detail.

However, because the employer was vicariously liable for the contributory negligence of the clerk of works, damages against the architect were reduced by 20%to account for this.