BARHALE LTD V SP TRANSMISSION PLC

[2021] ScotCS CSOH 2, Outer House of the Court of Session, Lord Tyre, 12 January 2021

Adjudication – Failure to exhaust jurisdiction – Whether failure to consider a possible defence must be deliberate in order to amount to a failure to exhaust jurisdiction

The pursuer brought an action in order to enforce the decision of the adjudicator. The defender resisted enforcement on the ground that the adjudicator had failed to exhaust his jurisdiction and had failed to give adequate reasons for his decision. It was held that the pursuer was not entitled to enforce the decision as he the adjudicator had failed to exhaust his jurisdiction. This being the case, it was not necessary to decide whether the adjudicator had failed to give adequate reasons for his decision.