Court of Appeal confirms position on Adjudicator’s fees in the event of an unenforceable decision
The Court of Appeal heard the appeal of PC Harrington v Systech in a case decided initially in the Technology and Construction Court (TCC) last year.
The CoA decided that the Adjudicator was not entitled to his fees as his decision had been shown to be unenforceable. Whilst an Adjudicator has to undertake several stages in reaching his decision, it is the decision alone that the parties require. An unenforceable decision is of no use to any party.
However the Court said that this may not be the case if the Adjudicator’s terms of appointment provided for his fees to be paid in any event. However Adjudicators planning to include such terms will need to consider whether such terms, even if agreed, fall foul of the Unfair Contract Terms Act.
P C Harrington Contractors Ltd v Systech International Ltd [2012] EWCA Civ 1371