Breach of duty did not bar claim under indemnity clause

In Greenwich Millennium Village Ltd v Essex Services Group plc [2014] EWCA Civ 960, [2014] 1 WLR 3517 the Court of Appeal held that, in the case of a construction contract, a failure by an indemnitee to spot defects perpetrated by its contractor or sub-contractor should not deny the indemnitee the right to bring a claim under an indemnity clause, even if that clause fails expressly to refer to damage caused by the negligence of the indemnitee. In reaching this conclusion the Court of Appeal emphasised that the principles established by the Privy Council in Canada Steamship Lines v The King [1952] AC 192 are rules of construction designed to give effect to the presumed intention of the parties and not rules of law.