Lanes Group Plc v Galliford Try Infrastructure Ltd (t/a Galliford Try Rail)
Citation: EWCA Civ 1617
Nature of case:
Lanes challenged the judge’s finding at first instance that the adjudicator still had jurisdiction, even though the referring party had failed to pursue the first reference to adjudication. GTI challenged the judge’s finding of apparent bias on the ground that the adjudicator had given a preliminary statement of his views of the dispute.
The CA recognised the right to re-start an adjudication and the right to adjudicate would not be irrevocably lost by failure to serve a referral notice. The adjudicator accordingly had jurisdiction. There was no apparent bias, since a fair-minded observer would characterise the Preliminary Views Document as a provisional view for the assistance of the parties and not as a final determination.
