The High Court recently decided on two issues in Meridian
Contracts Sdn Bhd v Bauer (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd:1
- If an adjudicator had only allowed a portion of the set-off
claim in an earlier adjudication, could the next adjudicator allow
for the remainder of the set-off claim in a subsequent
adjudication?
- In seeking to set aside an adjudication decision, can a party
seek declaratory reliefs against third parties?
Facts
The plaintiff was a sub-contractor employed by the defendant to
carry out the basement carcass works for a construction
project.
In 2019, the plaintiff commenced the first adjudication against
the defendant for a sum of 7,494,014.17 Malaysian ringgits. This
sum consisted of progress claim No. 26 (the penultimate) and the
first moiety retention sum, less the payments received. Meanwhile,
the defendant had disputed the claim and stated that there was a
set-off of 5,188,402.91 Malaysian ringgits. On 31 October 2019, the
first adjudicator delivered
