STEVE WARD SERVICES (UK) LTD V DAVIES & DAVIES ASSOCIATES LTD

[2022] EWCA Civ 153, Court of Appeal, Civil Division, Moylan, Coulson and Arnold LJJ, 14 February 2022

Adjudication – Entitlement of adjudicator to recover fees – Adjudicator resigned on ground that he lacked jurisdiction – Whether that decision was correct

The claimant brought an action in which it sought summary judgment to recover fees payable to an adjudicator (the claimant was the company through which the adjudicator carried out his work as an adjudicator). The defendant was a party to the adjudication. The adjudicator did not produce a decision because he resigned following a challenge by the other party to the adjudication to his jurisdiction as adjudicator. The ground of challenge was that the adjudication had been brought against the wrong party as it had been brought against a company rather than the director or majority shareholder in the company which was the party to the contract that was the source of the dispute referred to adjudication. The Court of Appeal held, dismissing the defendant’s appeal, that the claimant was entitled to recover its fees.