Allpay Limited v Northern Ireland

Introduction

The High Court of Northern Ireland applied the American Cyanamid test (serious issue to be tried; monetary damages inadequate; and balance of convenience) and granted an order lifting the automatic suspension thereby allowing NIHE to conclude the contract. If the challenger ultimately won (after full trial – at a later date) it could obtain a remedy in monetary damages. The Court had regard to the public interest in such public contracts being awarded without further delay if (as held to be the case here) monetary damages would compensate adequately a challenger which might succeed ultimately.

The Court considered that there was no reasonable suspicion that the bid of Paypoint, the first placed bidder, was abnormally low or that it might not be able to perform its obligations if it won the contract. The Court held that the bid was in any case "at market rates". It concluded that, even if it was wrong on those points, there was no general obligation on