Beck Interiors Ltd v Classic Decorative Finishing Ltd [2012] EWHC 1956 (TCC), [2012] All ER (D) 152 (Jul)
It was rare for the court to permit the unsuccessful party in an adjudication to set-off against the sum awarded by the adjudicator some other separate claim. Parliament had decreed that any sums awarded by an adjudicator should be paid without further ado and the court would, save in unusual circumstances, enforce those decisions. Where the unsuccessful party was claiming a set-off, there were two possible exceptions to that general principle. The first was where the set-off provision in the contract was capable of being construed as giving the unsuccessful party the right to make such a set-off. Second, there was the possible exception that arose in cases where the adjudicator did not order immediate payment, but instead gave a declaration as to the proper operation of the contract, or ordered that the sum due should be paid, but only as part of, and pursuant to, the existing contract machinery. It was settled law that equitable set-off could only be
