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ARTICLE · 14 MAY 2019

Legal Developments In Construction Law - April 2019

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A company director of an offshore company dealt with the appointment of an architect for works to the company's London property.

United StatesReal Estate and Construction
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 1. Who, precisely, do you think you are contracting with?

A company director of an offshore company dealt with the appointment of an architect for works to the company's London property.  He signed the architect's fee proposal letter "Confirmed: KEL Holdings Limited.", followed by his signature, and underneath that: "RJF Brothers. Director".  The architect subsequently emailed the director, identifying the company as its client, but the director did not reply.  The architect later obtained an adjudication award against the company for its fees but the company challenged jurisdiction, one ground being that the contract was not with the company but with the director personally.

In Hamid v Francis Bradshaw Partnership the Court of Appeal set out some applicable general principles. In summary the Court said that:

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This Mayer Brown article provides information and comments on legal issues and developments of interest. The foregoing is not a comprehensive treatment of the subject matter covered and is not intended to provide legal advice. Readers should seek specific legal advice before taking any action with respect to the matters discussed herein.

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