Case study: £62,000 award after builders failed to complete work on time
Our dispute resolution solicitors recently advised a couple after a building company failed to carry out work they had been contracted to do.
Builders failed to carry out contracted work
Our clients had instructed a Bristol-based building company to carry out work at their house and had entered into a contract for £78,500 in December 2018 based on the fact that the work would be carried out by early April 2019.
The builders carried out some work but did not progress it. The work that had been carried out was of poor quality, and our clients claimed that it was not done so with reasonable care and skill. As a result, the couple terminated the contract.
Presenting the claim at court
The Director of the building company defended the claim, stating that the deadline for the work was not a term of the contract. She also alleged that our clients owed money for the work they had carried out that had not been included in the contract price.
Our litigation solicitors submitted a Part 36 offer to settle, and this was declined by the Defendant.
We presented the claim at court, where the issues to be determined included:
- Whether the deadline of April 2019 was a term of the contract;
- Whether the builders had failed to carry out the work using reasonable care and skill;
- Whether our clients incurred the losses set out in the particulars of claim;
- Whether the building company was entitled to lost profits for the remainder of the claim; and
- Whether the builders had carried out any additional work that fell outside of the contract.
Judgment awarded
The building company’s counter claim was dismissed and judgment was awarded in our clients’ favour for £62,627. This was higher than what we offered in our Part 36 offer.
The Defendant failed to pay the sum and our dispute resolution lawyers applied for a charging order on her property and a restriction on the title register with the Land Registry. As a result, our clients can now rest assured that the Defendant’s property cannot be sold without our clients’ consent or the debt being cleared.
Further information
Home renovation projects became incredibly popular during the Covid-19 lockdown, and as a result, disputes over building work have increased in recent months.
If you believe building work has not been carried out in line with a contract, or you are owed money by a builder, our dispute resolution solicitors are here to help.
To get in touch with our litigation team, call us on 0117 325 2929 or fill out our online enquiry form.