Mr McGlinn had building works carried out at his property in Jersey. When they were finished, he claimed that they contained serious defects - so serious that the property had to be demolished. He sued the building contractor, the architect and the engineer for about £4.5m. In all construction disputes in the High Court the parties have to go through the steps set out in the pre-action protocol. If a party fails to do so, the court in the ensuing action can punish it by ordering it to pay costs, or to pay money into court, or by depriving it of interest. The pre-action protocol is in reality part of the court proceedings. Its purpose is to resolve disputes before they get to court. It can be expensive The parties have to set out their cases in detail, to provide information and to have at least one meeting. In complex cases the costs can be significant.
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