It is a truism that in order to refer a dispute to adjudication under section 108 of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (the "Act"), a "dispute" within the meaning of the Act must have occurred. However, beyond stating that a dispute "includes any difference", the Act offers no assistance in defining "dispute", and the meaning of "dispute" has been considered in very few of the court decisions concerning adjudication. This is perhaps surprising given the fears of many when the Act came into force that adjudication would be used by referring parties to "ambush" the other party. The issue has however recently been considered in detail by HH Judge Seymour QC in the case of Edmund Nuttall Limited v. R G Carter Limited.
