Entitlement of adjudicator who resigned to recover fees

In Steve Ward Services (UK) Ltd v Davies & Davies Associates Ltd [2022] EWCA Civ 153 the Court of Appeal held that the claimant was entitled to summary judgment in order to recover from the defendant, one of the parties to an adjudication, the fees of an adjudicator in respect of work done by the adjudicator prior to his decision to resign after he concluded that he lacked jurisdiction to decide the dispute which had been referred to him. The Court of Appeal found that the adjudicator had not erred in raising his concern about his jurisdiction despite the fact that neither party had raised the issue before him. The entitlement to recover fees was based in part on the terms of the adjudicator’s appointment and also on the fact that he had not acted in bad faith at any point during the adjudication or been guilty of any misconduct. The Court of Appeal also held that s3 of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 did not operate to invalidate the clause upon which the adjudicator relied when seeking payment.