Law digests: 4 March 2022

Adjudication

Steve Ward Services (UK) Ltd v Davies & Davies Associates Ltd [2022] EWCA Civ 153, All ER (D) 70 (Feb)

The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, dismissed the appellant’s appeal against the decision of the Technology and Construction Court that an adjudicator was entitled to recover his fees in circumstances where he had resigned because he did not consider that he had the necessary jurisdiction to decide the dispute. The respondent adjudicator issued proceedings to recover his fees in an adjudication brought by the appellant. The court held, among other things, that (i) there was a real jurisdictional issue in the adjudication; (ii) the respondent was entitled to decline jurisdiction and resign in consequence; (iii) the judge’s construction of clause 1 of the respondent’s terms and conditions to mean that he was entitled to be paid fees for the work he had done, unless there had been an act of bad faith on his part was correct; (iv) the respondent was not guilty of bad faith; (v) the Unfair Contract