Cases - Construction Award No 3

Record details

Name

Construction Award No 3

Date

(1994)

Keywords

Construction contracts - certification - failure by certifier to grant extension of time or certify loss and expense - effect of failure by certifier - failure to remove ineffective certifier by employer - whether failure by employer to remove certifier is breach of contract - JCT Standard Form (1963 ed)

Summary

In this arbitration award (in relation to which Mr John Dyson QC sat as legal assessor), the arbitrator considered the assumed scenario where events had occurred such as to entitle the contractor to an extension of time under clause 23 and loss and expense under clause 24 of the JCT Standard Form (1963 edition).

However, the architect had failed to grant an extension of time or certify loss and expense, not because he had come to a decision against the contractor on the merits, nor because he had not yet felt able to come to a decision one way or the other on the merits, but because had simply failed to consider the matter at all.

Such a failure to deal is a breach of contract: the employer who maintains in place an architect who simply ignores without consideration claims by contractors for extension of time and loss and expense is as much in breach of contract as is an employer (as in Croudace, above) who fails to keep in place an architect at all.