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Adjudication is a dispute resolution process. Around the world adjudication is increasingly used as an alternative to potentially costly and time consuming litigation. Since the late 1990s in England and Wales a statutory right has existed for parties to qualifying construction contracts to refer a dispute arising under their contract to adjudication.

Statutory adjudication is relatively quick, starting with a 28 day decision timeline – though this may be extended with party consent. The parties make various documentary submissions to the Adjudicator, including the opportunity to respond to the other party’s submissions. The underlying purpose of statutory adjudication is to provide swift resolution to disputes and to keep the money flowing between the parties.

Any dispute arising under a qualifying construction contract may usually be referred to adjudication. The decision of the Adjudicator is typically binding on the parties until the works are complete, after when a party may seek to re-open the dispute in litigation if they are of the opinion that the Adjudicator has made a sufficiently grievous error to warrant the risk and expense of litigation.

The party referring a dispute to adjudication typically has the luxury of time to prepare their submissions, not so for the responding party who will be subject to a relatively short period of time to prepare their response.

We can help you at every step of the adjudication process, from strategy to drafting to representation.

In order to realise the value or profit from the works, the final account must be valued and billed in accordance with the contract. All variations, allowances, claims for money, claims for time, disagreements concerning quality or defects should all be resolved in the final account.  There is no sense in building a great project and not getting paid in full.

We can help you prepare and negotiate the contract final account. 

Claims between the parties to a construction contract arise for all manner of reasons. Risk allocation clauses in contracts typically allow a party to a contract to claim against the other party if a specified event occurs, e.g. exceptionally poor weather, access to site not granted, changes to the law or government regulation, impediment, or instructions issued to undertake more work or to change the quality, method or sequencing of the work.

Often the effects of an event can only be properly quantified by the party performing the work. It follows then that construction contracts contain clauses that put the onus on the contractor to initiate the claims process. The contract will likely contain notice requirements as well as submission of formal claim particulars.

The purpose of these submissions is to notify the other party so that they can take appropriate action and to i) set out what has happened, ii) identify the cause, iii) show why there is entitlement to additional money or time or both, and iv) to provide evidence or substantiation.

Once a claim has been submitted the onus is on the other party to assess it, to determine if it is reasonable and meets the requirements set out in the contract. The option to negotiate is open to the parties, but not as a strategy to defer a decision or repeatedly ask for further substantiation. If the claim is properly founded, the subject needs to be discussed and negotiated to a conclusion.

To the extent that the claim, in full or in part, is not admitted a dispute exists between the parties. In some jurisdictions or under certain contracts, the existence of a dispute may entitle the injured party to refer the dispute to adjudication.