ADJUDICATION, WRITTEN CONTRACTS AND ABUSE OF PROCESS

Connex South Eastern Ltd v MJ Building Services Group plc [2004] EWHC 1518 (TCC) (unreported, 25 June 2004)

In Connex South Eastern Ltd v MJ Building Services Group plc [2004] EWHC 1518 (TCC) (unreported, 25 June 2004) Judge Richard Havery QC held that the absence of a written acceptance did not mean that the contract concluded between the parties was not in writing for the purposes of s107 of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (hereafter ‘the 1996 Act’). He also held that an adjudication provision can survive the discharge of a contract which contains the adjudication provision. Finally he held that it was not an abuse of process for a party to issue a notice of adjudication on 24 February 2004 when it had accepted the claimant’s repudiation of the contract on 29 November 2002. He held that the words ‘at any time’ in s108(2)(a) of the 1996 Act could not be confined to the currency of the contract. But there must be some limit to the time frame within which a notice can be issued. Judge Havery held that the limit was to be found in the law relating to limitation of actions so that a limitation defence must be taken into account by the adjudicator.