EMPLOYER NOT ENTITLED TO APPOINT ITSELF CONSTRUCTION MANAGER

Scheldebouw BV v St James Homes (Grosvenor Dock) Ltd [2006] EWHC 89 (TCC), 16 January 2006

In Scheldebouw BV v St James Homes (Grosvenor Dock) Ltd [2006] EWHC 89 (TCC), 16 January 2006, Mr Justice Jackson held that an employer was entitled to replace the construction manager pursuant to an express term of the contract between the parties but that it was not entitled to appoint itself as construction manager. Mr Justice Jackson reached the latter conclusion for a number of reasons, most notably that a conclusion to the contrary would have left the contractor in a vulnerable position in the event that the employer had assumed the role of construction manager. Indeed, he stated that it was such an unusual state of affairs for an employer to assume the role of construction manager and certifier that ‘this can only be achieved by an express term of the contract.’ There was no such express term in the present case and, accordingly, he held that the employer was not entitled to appoint itself as construction manager.