Limiting liability for delay and disruption


In McGee Group Ltd v Galliford Try Building Ltd [2017] EWHC 87 (TCC) Coulson J held that a clause which provided that a sub-contractor’s liability for direct loss and/or expenses and/or damages shall not exceed 10% of the value of the order applied to all of the defendant’s claims for loss and/or expense and/or damages for delay and disruption. Coulson J approached the question of interpretation of the clause in question without using special rules of interpretation: he simply required that the wording be ‘clear and unambiguous.’ He held that this requirement had been satisfied on the facts of the case. The term itself was ‘straightforward.’ It only applied to claims in respect of delay and disruption (and so did not extend to claims in respect of defective work) and was a common way in which contracting parties sought to reduce risk and promote certainty.