Management Solutions & Professional Consultants Ltd v Bennett (Electrical) Services Ltd

Management Solutions & Professional Consultants Ltd v Bennett (Electrical) Services Ltd

The contracts were in writing for the purposes of section 107 HGCRA, and oral instructions for variations did not remove them from the scope of the Act. The adjudicators had jurisdiction, and their decisions are enforceable. The sums awarded in each adjudication are to be set off against each other, with the net balance payable to Management Solutions.

Parties
Claimant (first Application), Defendant (second Application): Management Solutions & Professional Consultants Limited; Defendant (first Application), Claimant (second Application): Bennett (Electrical) Services Limited
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
10 July 2006
Procedural Posture
Civil (construction/commercial) / Judgment on Applications for Summary Judgment to Enforce Adjudicators' Decisions
Outcome
Judgment for both parties with set-off; net sum payable to Management Solutions; no order as to costs.
Legal Topics
Adjudication Enforcement, Jurisdiction of Adjudicator, Written Contracts Under HGCRA, Set Off of Cross Claims, Summary Judgment
Construction Law Contract Law Civil Procedure Adjudication Enforcement Jurisdiction of Adjudicator Written Contracts Under HGCRA Set Off of Cross Claims Summary Judgment

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Parties

Management Solutions & Professional Consultants Limited

Claimant (first Application), Defendant (second Application)

Bennett (Electrical) Services Limited

Defendant (first Application), Claimant (second Application)

Procedural Posture

Civil (construction/commercial) / Judgment on Applications for Summary Judgment to Enforce Adjudicators' Decisions

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the adjudicators' decisions are enforceable under the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (HGCRA)
  2. 2 Whether the relevant contracts were 'in writing' for the purposes of section 107 HGCRA
  3. 3 Whether oral variations to a written contract remove the contract from the scope of HGCRA

Ratio Decidendi

The contracts were in writing for the purposes of section 107 HGCRA, and oral instructions for variations did not remove them from the scope of the Act. The adjudicators had jurisdiction, and their decisions are enforceable. The sums awarded in each adjudication are to be set off against each other, with the net balance payable to Management Solutions.

Court Disposition

Judgment for both parties with set-off; net sum payable to Management Solutions; no order as to costs.

Orders

  • Management Solutions to recover £15,568.30 plus interest from 25 January 2006.
  • Each party to bear its own costs.