Vinci subcontracted Beumer in November 2012 to design, manufacture, supply, install and commission the baggage handling system at the new Pier 1 at Gatwick’s South Terminal.
When Beumer missed agreed completion dates, Vinci initiated legal proceedings.
Judgment in the Technology & Construction Court was handed down at a previous hearing last year in favour of Vinci’s right to claim liquidated damages. As a result of this, Vinci issued a payment certificate on 25th October 2017 claiming £9,671,500 liquidated damages.
Subsequent adjudication failed to settle the matter and the claim returned to court earlier this month.
Sarah Phillips, a solicitor with Irwin Mitchell LLP, described the judgment as “another reminder from the Court that a 'breach of natural justice' argument against the enforcement of an adjudicator’s decision will be carefully dissected and is likely to be a hard one to win”.
The full judgment, which cites
- Carillion Construction Limited v. Devonport Royal Dockyard Limited [2006] BLR 15
- Balfour Beatty Engineering Services HY Limited v Shepherd Construction Limited [2009] EWHC 2218 (TCC)
- Viridis UK Limited v Mulalley & Company Limited [2014] EWHC 268
can be found at http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/TCC/2018/1874.html
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