Injunction To Prevent Adjudication

The English Technology and Construction Court (TCC) case of Twintec Ltd v Volkerfitzpatrick Ltd (VFL) is a rare instance of an injunction being granted to prevent an adjudication and illustrates the unintended consequences of contracting based on letters of intent.

Facts

VFL was main contractor for the construction of a large warehouse and wine bottling plant for Accolade Wines. Accolade claimed that the warehouse floor was not fit for purpose. They alleged that the piling and floor slab constructed by VFL's subcontractors (Twintec and Keller) were defective. The floor issue is currently the subject of a separate court action in which Accolade are claiming for £170m.

Prior to the court action being raised, VFL had carried out testing of the floor and subsoil at a cost of £850k. They alleged that one reason the tests were required was Twintec's poor workmanship. They applied to the RICS for appointment of an adjudicator on the basis of the DOM/2 standard form of