The validity of pay less notices and the entitlement to commence a subsequent adjudication

In S & T (UK) Ltd v Grove Developments Ltd [2018] EWCA Civ 2448 the Court of Appeal held that a pay less notice issued by the claimant employer was not deficient despite the fact that information was contained in a document previously sent to the contractor. In each case it is a question of fact and degree whether the purported pay less notice achieved the requisite degree of specificity. More importantly, the Court of Appeal held, on the assumption that the pay less notice was deficient, that the claimant employer was entitled to commence a separate adjudication seeking a decision as to the “true” value of the interim application for payment which had been the subject of the earlier adjudication provided that it had first paid the notified sum to the contractor. Finally, the Court of Appeal held that the notices served by the claimant employer were sufficient to entitle it to deduct or recover liquidated damages for delay.