Liabilities Under Pre-Construction Services Agreements

Recently, the Technology and Construction Court decided the case of Belong (Construction) Limited (Belong) v Seddon Construction Limited (Seddon) [2026] EWHC 1275 (TCC) which determined that liabilities contained in a Pre-Construction Services Agreement (PCSA) (for pre-existing breaches) could survive even though the parties had subsequently entered into a JCT main contract. The terms and liabilities were not extinguished after the PCSA had been "subsumed into and subject to" a main JCT contract.

What were the facts?

In May 2020, Belong had instructed Seddon (Defendant) to carry out works on a care home development pursuant to a PSCA. The PCSA incorporated Proposed Contract Documents (PCD) which included the draft main JCT Standard Building Contract. As part of the PCSA, Seddon was instructed to inspect, and carry out opening-up and testing of air sealing works (ASW). This had formerly been carried out by a previous contractor.