In 1970, Viscount Dilhorne' in the case of City of
Westminster v Jarvis, said that:
"The contract does not define what is meant by
'practically completed'. One would normally say that a task
was practically completed when it was almost but not entirely
finished; but 'Practical Completion' suggests that that is
not the intended meaning and that what is meant is the completion
of all the C construction work that has to be
done."
Almost 50 years later, Lord Justice Coulson was asked to
consider again the meaning of practical completion. Jesse Way takes
up the story.
Earlier this year, the Court of Appeal delivered its judgment in
Mears Limited v Costplan Services (South East) Limited &
Ors [2019] EWCA Civ 502 ("Mears"). In Mears, the
Court of Appeal had to determine two issues.
