Disputes at a waste to energy plant

Facts

Client: Engineering contractor

Region: UK

Industry: Construction

Issues:

Fenwick Elliott acted for the UK subsidiary of a European specialist engineering company in connection with disputes arising out of the design, supply and installation of electrical, control and instrumentation works for a waste to energy plant.

Completion of the plant was late due to changes to the scope of work and delays caused by the Employer.

Adjudication failed to bring about a full and final settlement.

Solutions

The only solution was to work with the client and prepare a detailed claim. This involved thoroughly investigating the causes of delay and working with technical, delay and quantum experts. This enabled the client to fully appreciate the strengths and weaknesses of its case.

A claim was duly issued in the TCC.

It was necessary to prosecute the claim through various interlocutory stages including disclosure, before, as a result of carefully judged Part 36 offers, a final settlement was negotiated.

Benefits

Although the client had had to bring formal court proceedings before being able to achieve a settlement, as it fully understood its own position, it was able to bring about a settlement on its own terms.