The Importance Of Three Words

The Court of Appeal has handed down a judgment on the termination provisions of the 2016 Edition of the JCT Standard Form of Design and Build Contract.

Termination provisions

The amended form of contract allowed the Contractor to issue a notice citing specified defaults (clause 8.9.1). If the specified notice continued for 28 days of the date of that notice, the Contractor may serve a termination notice on, or within, 21 days from the end of the 28-day period (clause 8.9.3). If the contract was not terminated in accordance with clause 8.9.3 "for any reason", the contractor could terminate the contract within 28 days of a repeated specified default.

Relevant facts

In December 2022, the Employer failed to pay a notified sum by the final date for payment. The following day, the Contractor issued a clause 8.9.1 notice. 13 days later, the notified sum was fully paid, ahead of the 28-day period stipulated by clause 8.9.3.