Walter Lilly & Co Ltd v Jean Francois Clin
Citation: [2016] EWHC 357 (TCC); [2016] LTL 3/3/2016; [2016] BLR 247
Nature of case:
The Defendant succeeded in establishing a limited scope of contractual responsibility on the part of an Employer under a Standard Form JCT Building Contract for obtaining necessary planning and conservation area consents for a residential development in Kensington.
The Court found that an Employer is only under a strict obligation to deliver the required information to a local authority in sufficient time for the planning department to provide any lawfully required planning and other consents.
In doing so, the Court rejected the Claimant’s case that, as a matter of principle and contract, all risks associated with obtaining planning consent (including delays on the part of the planning department in dealing with the same and any unlawful or capricious steps taken by the local authority that may delay a project) were carried by the Employer.
Counsel: Vincent Moran QC represented the Defendant.
