The application of the Limitation Act 1980 to adjudication

LJR Interiors Ltd v Cooper Construction Ltd [2023] EWHC 3339 (TCC)

In LJR Interiors Ltd v Cooper Construction Ltd [2023] EWHC 3339 (TCC), HH Judge Russen KC held that an adjudicator had erred in concluding that s5 of the Limitation Act 1980 had no application to a claim for payment made in an adjudication. The claim brought by the claimant was brought after the expiry of the limitation period applicable to contractual claims with the consequence that the adjudicator was held to have erred in deciding that the claimant was entitled to recover the sum claimed from the defendant. Judge Russen granted the defendant a declaration that the claim brought by the claimant was statute-barred and that the decision of the adjudicator was unenforceable. This was held to be a suitable case for a court to make such a declaration under Pt 8 of the Civil Procedure Rules given that the point of law was short and self-contained, the resolution of the issue did not require oral evidence and it would have been unconscionable for the court to ignore the issue on an application for summary judgment to enforce the decision of the adjudicator.