Cases - Barclays Bank plc v Fairclough Building Ltd
Record details
- Name
- Barclays Bank plc v Fairclough Building Ltd
- Date
- [1995]
- Citation
- 1 AII ER 289
- Legislation
- Keywords
- Contract administration - Law Reform (Contributory Negligence) Act 1945
- Summary
-
The plaintiff employer issued proceedings to recover damages for breaches by the defendant contractor of two principal obligations contained in a standard form of building contract (the JCT standard form (1984 edition)). Both clauses required strict performance and did not depend on a mere failure to take reasonable care.
The trial judge at first instance found that the contractor was liable but that the employer's architect had failed to supervise the work so as to prevent the contractor from committing that fault. The judge gave judgment for the employer for damages to be assessed but, on the basis of section 1(1) of the Law Reform (Contributory Negligence) Act 1945 held that such damages should be reduced by 40 per cent for contributory negligence by the employer's architect.
However, this decision was reversed on appeal. Although a defendant contractor was entitled to the benefit of apportionment of blame and liability under section 1(1) of the 1945 Act, if the liability for the breach was the same as, and coextensive with, a similar liability in tort independent of the existence of the contract on a claim for damages founded on a breach by the contractor of a strict contractual liability that arose independently of any negligence on his part, the contract had to be construed so as to exclude the operation of section 1(1) of the 1945 Act. There was no express obligation on the employer to prevent breaches being committed by the contractor and accordingly the employer could recover its damages in full.