Too Late: TCC Upholds Part 8 Challenge Against Adjudication On Grounds Of Limitation

• Published date: 16 February 2023
• Law Firm: Shepherd and Wedderburn LLP
• Author: Mr Iain Drummond and Lindsay Robinson

LJR Interiors Ltd v Cooper Construction Ltd involved a successful Part 8 claim against an adjudication award, providing a helpful example to businesses of when it is appropriate to challenge an adjudicator's decision. This case is a useful contrast to Breakshore v Red Key Concepts, where the Part 8 challenge failed.

Facts

Cooper Construction contracted with LJR Interiors to perform dry lining, plastering and screed works at a development property in Oxfordshire. The parties did not adopt a standard form contract, and instead reached agreement through letter and purchase order on 26 August 2014. The agreement did not include an adjudication clause, so the Scheme for Construction Contracts applied by virtue of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996.

The works were completed on 19 October 2014. LJR submitted three payment applications. Cooper paid the sums due minus '1,900, which was a portion it disputed. The parties exchanged emails between 2015 and 2016, ending in an email from LJR on 20 December 2016 purporting to request payment. 6 years later, on 31 July 2022, LJR sent to Cooper Payment Application No. 4...