Mr Robinson Complained That There Were Defects To The Chimney
Flues In His House Which Had Been Built By The Builder PE
Jones.
The trouble was though that by the time the defects had become
apparent the limitation period for a claim in contract had
expired.
So rather than giving up, Mr Robinson took PE Jones to court
relying on S.14A of the Limitation Act 1980, which allows you to
extend the limitation period for bringing proceedings where an
action is based on negligence, as the contract contained provisions
that were of potential relevance to this. The matter ended up
in the Court of Appeal.
It was hoped by many that the Court of Appeal would clarify
whether contractors owed a duty of care in tort in respect of
economic loss at the same time as a duty under a contract, and if
they did under what circumstances. Unfortunately though, the
decision still seems to leave a lot of questions unanswered.
