Citation: EWHC 1039 (TCC)
Nature of case: This judgment highlights the practical advantages of serving a notice of adjudication prior to the due date for payment. The issue before the court was whether a dispute had crystallised in circumstances where the Notice of Adjudication had been issued before the due date for payment; and the extent to which certain issues falling outside the adjudicator’s decision could be severed from those which were enforceable. Finding that a dispute had crystallised, Akenhead J stated that the practical advantage of seeking adjudication before the due date for payment lies in the fact that it can be resolved in time before payment is due or shortly thereafter. It is illogical to say that there cannot be a dispute about an interim valuation of work unless, until and after the valuation falls due for payment. If there is a dispute about the interim valuation, that is referable to adjudication.
