Taking a knife to adjudicators' decisions

摘要

In Corebuild, the Court held that the adjudicator had gone off on a "frolic of his own" rendering his decision unenforceable because he had breached the rules of natural justice. Corebuild demonstrates that while the Court will enforce an adjudicator's decision if he or she gets the answer to the question wrong, it will refuse to enforce if he or she answers the wrong question entirely. The Employers, Mr Cleaver and Ms Omolska, engaged Corebuild Limited to carry out works to a residential property. The Employers, via the Contract Administrator, had served the Contractor with notice that they would terminate the contract in 14 days if it continued to fail to progress the works regularly and diligently. When in the Contract Administrator's view the situation did not improve, he served a further notice after the expiry of the 14-day period purporting to terminate the contract.