This is the third in a series of podcasts coming this year, all recorded to celebrate 150 years of the Technology and Construction Court (TCC). In each episode, Keating barristers will choose one leading case from the TCC and review how it has faired over the years, including discussion of subsequent cases that have focused on it.
In this episode James Thompson, Tom Coulson, Tom Walker and Isobel Kamber have taken a slightly different approach to the series and discuss one of the most significant judgments in very recent case law history, Martlet Homes Limited v Mulalley & Co. Limited [2022]. This is the first decision from the TCC on Fire Safety (External Wall Insulation or “EWI”) following the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017. The dispute concerned fire safety defects in the external walls of five high-rise towers in Gosport, Hampshire. They discuss the impact of the judgment on the construction industry and its insurers. In a precedent setting decision, the Judge provided clear guidance on the courts’ assessment of the law of causation and what “caused” the cladding to be replaced.
James, Tom C., Tom W. and Isobel also discuss additional and important cases since Martlet v Mulalley, including St James’s Oncology v Lendlease and LDC (Portfolio One) Ltd v (1) George Downing Construction [2022] and how the courts are continuing to take a robust approach to cladding defect claims following Grenfell.
