Approach to the interpretation of pay less notices

In Advance JV v Enisca Ltd [2022] EWHC 1152 (TCC), Joanna Smith J held that the claimant was not entitled to a declaration that it had issued a valid pay less notice against the defendant’s interim application for payment. It was held that payment notices must be referable to individual payment cycles and that the notice issued by the claimant did not refer to the payment cycle in respect of which payment was claimed but to a subsequent cycle. On this basis, the pay less notice was held not to be in substance or in form a pay less notice relating to the application in respect of which payment was sought. The judgment also contains a helpful summary of the general approach taken by the courts to the interpretation of notices, such as a payment notice or a pay less notice.