Contractor entitled to terminate contract on ground of theft

Woodford Construction Ltd v Readymix (West Indies) Ltd [2025] UKPC 6

In Woodford Construction Ltd v Readymix (West Indies) Ltd [2025] UKPC 6, the contract between the parties provided that the "theft" of certain materials was a ground on which the contract between the parties could be terminated. The Privy Council, in a judgment given by Lady Simler, held that the lower courts had made an implicit finding that there had been "theft" when materials had been taken from the site without going through the contractually agreed verification procedures. While a failure to comply with a verification procedure cannot necessarily be equated with theft, on the present facts the verification procedure was the means by which payment would be calculated and there was held to be a sufficient basis in the evidence for the conclusion that the taking of the materials without going through the verification procedure was attributable to the theft of these materials. There was therefore an entitlement to terminate the contract on the ground of the "theft" of the materials.