Construction adjudication support under the Construction Act.
Quantum evidence, notice analysis and drafting support for referring and responding parties in adjudications under the Construction Act.
How we support parties in construction adjudication.
Adjudication runs to a 28-day timetable. The quantum case has to be right first time.
Referral and response support
Preparation of the quantum sections of a referral notice, response, reply or rejoinder, working with the party's solicitor or claims consultant. Valuation schedules, evidence bundles and a clear narrative of how the figure is built.
Smash-and-grab analysis
Review of the payment cycle: was the application valid, was a payment notice or pay less notice served in time and in the right form, and what is the notified sum. Advice on the strength of a technical payment claim or defence. See pay less notices explained.
True-value analysis
Valuation of the works at the relevant due date for a true-value adjudication, whether following a successful notified-sum adjudication or as a stand-alone referral. See true value adjudication after a smash and grab.
Expert quantum evidence
A focused expert report on quantum for the issues referred, written for the adjudicator and the compressed timetable, with attendance at any meeting the adjudicator calls.
Enforcement and follow-on
Support to the legal team on the quantum aspects of enforcement in the TCC and on any subsequent final determination of the dispute in litigation or arbitration.
The number has to be right first time.
Adjudication compresses what might be a year of litigation into a few weeks. There is rarely a second chance to put in evidence, and the adjudicator may be a lawyer, a surveyor or an engineer. Baker Accordia supports parties with a quantum case that is built from the records, presented so it can be followed quickly, and defended under the pressure of the timetable.
The practice acts for parties, working alongside their solicitors or claims consultants, and brings a Chartered Quantity Surveyor's grounding in valuation, payment and contract administration to residential and commercial disputes alike.
Construction adjudication: common questions.
What is a smash and grab adjudication?
An adjudication about notices rather than value. If the paying party did not serve a valid payment notice or pay less notice in time, the sum applied for becomes the notified sum and must be paid, whatever the works were worth. The adjudicator decides on the notices alone. See pay less notices explained.
What is a true value adjudication?
An adjudication that decides what the works were actually worth at the relevant due date, under the contract's valuation rules. A payer who has lost a smash and grab adjudication can start one, but only after paying the notified sum (S&T (UK) Ltd v Grove Developments Ltd [2018] EWCA Civ 2448). It is won on a quantum build-up the adjudicator can follow. See true value adjudication after a smash and grab.
Which contracts can be adjudicated?
Construction contracts as defined in Part II of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996, as amended by the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009. Contracts with residential occupiers are excluded from the statutory right unless the contract itself provides for adjudication, as many standard forms do.
How quickly do you need to be involved?
Ideally before the notice of adjudication is served, so that the quantum case and the evidence are assembled on the referring party's timetable rather than the adjudicator's. For a responding party, on the day the notice arrives.
Can you give expert evidence in an adjudication?
Yes. Adjudicators regularly receive expert reports on quantum. The same standards of independence apply as in court, and the report is written to be used by an adjudicator who may be a lawyer, a surveyor or an engineer.
Discuss an instruction in confidence.
Early conversations are without obligation and treated as confidential. Conflicts are checked before any detail of the dispute is discussed.