Introduction

With an average of 1,500 referrals each year in the UK of what are predominantly payment related disputes to adjudicators who are mainly lawyers (43%), what are a dissatisfied party’s options when an adjudicator’s decision is plainly wrong?

Adjudications on large projects can involve complex issues of measurement, valuation, claims and delay analysis alongside technical specification and contract compliance issues; all of which need to be addressed in a challenging time-frame to produce a temporarily binding decision. There exists a lot of scope for mistakes to manifest themselves in such a decision; the effects of which can be financially significant.

Twenty years on from the introduction of statutory adjudication in the UK, the courts have developed a fast-track approach to enforcement of decisions in support of the purpose of the HGCRA-96. In parallel, party’s representatives have been creative in seeking to avoid some or all of the effects of an unfavourable decision.

This paper considers some of the approaches adopted by disgruntled parties and the court’s responses to the same.

With an average of 1,500 referrals each year in the UK of what are predominantly payment related disputes to  adjudicators who are mainly lawyers (43%), what are a dissatisfied party’s options when an adjudicator’s decision is plainly wrong?

Derek Nelson, Partner