WARRANTY DEED HELD TO HAVE RETROSPECTIVE EFFECT

Northern Shell plc v John Laing Construction Ltd [2002] All ER (D) 403

In Northern Shell plc v John Laing Construction Ltd [2002] All ER (D) 403 (October) Judge Anthony Thornton QC held that a deed or a contract can take effect retrospectively. Whether it does so or not is a question of construction of the deed itself. Clause 5 of the Deed concluded between the parties stated that: ‘This Deed shall come into effect on the day following the date of issue of the Certificate of Practical Completion under the Building Contract for Merchant’s House’. It was held that the deed became operative from that date notwithstanding the fact that it pre-dated the deed itself. This being the case, the claim brought by the claimant was held to be time-barred because, while the action was commenced within 12 years of the date of entry into the deed, it was commenced more than 12 years after the deed became effective as a result of the retrospective effect of clause 5. The judgment of Judge Thornton QC contains a helpful summary of the applicable legal principles. The summary is set out in full below.