SHEPHERD CONSTRUCTION LTD v DRAX POWER LTD

[2021] EWHC 1478 (TCC), Technology and Construction Court, HH Judge Eyre QC, 8 June 2021

Entitlement to withhold payment – Construction of contract – Set off and abatement

The claimant entered into a contract with the defendant based on the FIDIC Plant and Design-Build Contract First Edition 1999, under which the claimant agreed to perform works in relation to the conversion of generating units at a power station so that they could operate on biomass fuel. There were two elements to the project. The first was “the Ecostore Works” and the second was the “BDS Works”. The claimant was initially engaged to work on the former in March 2012 and the latter was added as a variation in October 2012. While the two projects were separate construction exercises and could have been contracted for separately, it was accepted that the two projects were “interrelated” and formed part of the same project.