What Liability Does A Quantity Surveyor Have If A Certificate Is Overvalued Or Incorrectly Valued?

The employment of a Quantity Surveyor arises from his appointment by the Employer or by someone authorised on his behalf to make the appointment. The express and implied terms of the appointment govern the rights and obligations of the parties; the express terms are of course the starting point.

GC/Works/5, 1998 and 1999 versions, sets out the duties of the Quantity Surveyor in Annex 3. This Annex, together with the General Conditions of GC/Works/5, comprise the express terms.

The Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 provides that a duty to serve the Employer with reasonable care and skill is implied in a contract for the supply of a service where the supplier is acting in the course of a business. Thus, even where the construction professional may have been engaged without reference to any standard form conditions, the duty to act with reasonable care and skill is implied by statute.