Cases - Phee Farrar Jones Ltd v Connaught Mason Ltd

Record details

Name

Phee Farrar Jones Ltd v Connaught Mason Ltd

Date

[2005]

Citation

CILL 2005 TCC

Keywords

Construction claim - loss and expense claim - damages - management time - wasted management time - managerial expenses - discrete expense - loss of profit

Summary

The claimant was a leaseholder of commercial premises in Charing Cross, London. The defendant contractor was responsible for flooding during refurbishment works to the premises. The flooding caused considerable damage, and during the course of the requisite remedial works, the claimant relocated its staff to alternative office accommodation. The claimant claimed the cost of 90 hours of wasted management time spent by a senior employee in organising the move to alternative accommodation. HHJ Toulmin QC refused to allow the claim, holding that:

'Managerial expenses can be claimed as damages if it is established that the claimant's trading was disturbed in a way which led to a discrete expense being incurred (e.g. overtime) or by a specific loss of revenue, which would otherwise have been obtained. There is no evidence that this happened. In particular, there is no evidence that income-generating opportunities were lost in the course of Mr Chandler organising the move to Alfred Place.'