Cases - Wilson v Le Fevre Wood & Royle
Record details
- Name
- Wilson v Le Fevre Wood & Royle
- Date
- [1996]
- Citation
- 1 PNLR 107
- Legislation
- Keywords
- Contract administration
- Summary
-
This dispute arose out of building works to repair the plaintiff's bungalow. The defendant architects and surveyors were responsible for supervising the works. Works commenced in September 1982 and were completed by early 1983. It emerged that the building works were defective in that the building had serious problems with rising damp. From 1983 onwards, the plaintiff repeatedly complained to the defendant about the damp. On 8 March 1984 the defendant made its last inspection of the plaintiff's premises. On 9 March 1987 the plaintiff made a renewed complaint to the defendant, who declined to deal with it.
On 16 July 1990 the plaintiff commenced proceedings against the defendants. The writ was issued more than 6 years after the defendants' alleged negligence.
The Court of Appeal held that the claim was statute-barred. On the facts, it was held that the plaintiff owner had knowledge of the damage more then three years before the issuing of the writ. Only if the plaintiff owner established the requisite knowledge after 16 July 1987 would the claim be in time. The Court of Appeal held that the plaintiff owner had the requisite knowledge prior to this date.
In the case of a contractor, architect or engineer who undertakes responsibility for design, he may well have a duty to continue to monitor and revise that design throughout the period of the works up to the date of practical completion.