Existence of binding contract gave adjudicator jurisdiction

In Malcolm Charles Contracts Ltd v Crispin [2014] EWHC 3898 (TCC) Carr J held that the claimant was entitled to enforce the decision of an adjudicator. The defendants had attempted to resist the claim on the ground that the adjudicator had no jurisdiction to decide the dispute between the parties because there was no contract in existence between the parties which incorporated an agreement to refer disputes to adjudication. On the facts Carr J found that such a contract had been concluded and that the claimant was accordingly entitled to enforce the decision of the adjudicator. The evidence, objectively interpreted, demonstrated that the parties had by their words and conduct reached a binding agreement on the essential terms of a contract.