Adjudications and company voluntary arrangements

In FTH Ltd v Varis Developments Ltd [2022] EWHC 1385 (TCC), Mr Adrian Williamson QC, sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge, held that the claimant, a company subject to a Company Voluntary Arrangement, was not entitled to summary judgment in order to enforce decisions made in two adjudications. It was held that the defendant had established that there was a real risk that summary enforcement would deprive the defendant of security in respect of its cross-claim against the claimant. Had it been necessary for him to do so, the Deputy Judge would have granted to the defendant a stay of execution. The case underlines the practical difficulty likely to be experienced by a company which has entered into a Company Voluntary Arrangement in enforcing adjudication decisions made in its favour.