One big DISPUTE or many small disputes? That is the question.

The papers seem full of reports that the Tory love affair with UK business is at an end and, from the long list of concerns raised by business leaders, this could be true. Whether there is any truth in this or not, the concerns regarding inflation, wage levels, labour and material shortages, and the supply chain apply equally to the construction sector as they do to all sectors of the UK PLC economy.

One hopes that the government and business will find solutions to most if not all of these concerns, but if they fail they may need a third party to assist. In the unlikely event that Boris decides to fill in his RICS application form for the nomination of an adjudicator (he must not forget to get a cheque from Rishi for £425 including VAT), the first question the adjudicator will have to ask (ignoring the fact that there is no ‘construction contract’, but when did that issue ever stop an adjudication from proceeding) is, is there more than one dispute? If there is, then s/he will have no jurisdiction because an adjudicator can only deal with a (singular) dispute (section 108 of the 1996 Act).

Quadro Services Limited v. Creagh Concrete Products Limited (19 August 2021) – Click to read more