‘DISPUTES’, NATURAL JUSTICE AND ADJUDICATION

Bovis Lend Lease v The Trustees of the London Clinic [2009] EWHC 64 (TCC), [2009] All ER (D) 240 (Jan)

In Bovis Lend Lease v The Trustees of the London Clinic [2009] EWHC 64 (TCC), [2009] All ER (D) 240 (Jan), Mr Justice Akenhead held that there was a dispute in existence between the parties and that the adjudicator had juris -diction to decide the dispute which had been referred to him. He stated that, unless the claim as presented is nebulous and ill-defined, the fact that a claim for payment is refused or not accepted on the basis that insufficient information has been provided will usually give rise to a dispute. Further, he held that there had been no material breach of the rules of natural justice and stated, in clear terms, that it will be a rare case in which it can be said that there has been a material breach of the rules of natural justice where the party making the complaint did not raise the issue during the course of the adjudication. Concerns about the fairness of the process should be articulated in the adjudication itself and not left to a later date.