ADJUDICATION AND CONTRACTS IN WRITING

Redworth Construction Ltd v Brookdale Healthcare Ltd [2006] EWHC 1994 (TCC); [2006] All ER (D) 4 (Aug)

In Redworth Construction Ltd v Brookdale Healthcare Ltd [2006] EWHC 1994 (TCC); [2006] All ER (D) 4 (Aug) Judge Richard Havery held that the claimant was not entitled to enforce the decision of an adjudicator because of a lack of jurisdiction on the part of the adjudicator. The reason for the lack of jurisdiction was the absence of a construction contract ‘in writing’ between the parties, as required by s107 of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (hereafter ‘the 1996 Act’). In order to satisfy the statutory requirement, either all of the contract must be in writing, or, possibly, all except the ‘trivial’ or those parts of it which are unrelated to the issues giving rise to the reference to adjudication.