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13 September 2018 / Digby Hebbard
Issue: 7808 / Categories: Features , ADR
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Construction adjudication: beware the counterclaim

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With adjudication remaining a common method for resolving construction disputes, Digby Hebbard takes a look at the plus points & potential pitfalls

  • The majority of disputes from UK construction projects are determined via statutory adjudication.
  • The sope of the dispute in adjudication will be deemed to encompass any conceivable defences and cross-claims.
  • As a recent case demonstrates, parties instigating adjudication must be alive to, and prepared for, potential defences or counterclaims.

A substantial proportion of disputes arising in connection with UK construction projects are resolved through statutory adjudication, introduced via the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996. A primary objective behind its introduction was to ensure that historically endemic payment disputes were resolved quickly and cheaply to maintain cash flow, and therefore, to similarly maintain progress in construction projects.

Put shortly, statutory adjudication is an informal and expedited process. Adjudicators are appointed from bodies of industry professionals (eg quantity surveyors, engineers, architects, project managers, lawyers) and decide disputes between two parties within a compressed timetable, normally within

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