No submission to the jurisdiction of adjudicator

In Clark Electrical Ltd v JMD Developments (UK) Ltd [2012] EWHC 2627 (TCC), [2012] All ER (D) 181 (Sep) His Honour Judge Behrens, sitting as a Deputy Judge of the High Court, held that the defendants had not agreed to submit to the jurisdiction of the adjudicator with the consequence that the claimants were held not to be entitled to enforce the decision of the adjudicator against them. An examination of the correspondence which had passed between the parties demonstrated that the defendants had done no more than seek guidance from the adjudicator at a time at which they had not received the documentation from the claimants and at a time when they were unfamiliar with the adjudication process. The fact that they had paid their share of the adjudicator’s appointment fee was held not to amount on the facts to a submission to the jurisdiction of the adjudicator.