DGT Steel and Cladding Ltd v Cubitt Building and Interiors Ltd
Citation: EWHC 1584 (TCC), [2007] All ER (D) 43 (TCC), [2007] CILL 2492, [2007] BLM Vol 24 No.8
Nature of case:
The defendant main contractor succeeded in its application for a stay in court proceedings pending adjudication. The claimant sub-contractor argued that there should be no stay because there was no obligation under the HGCR Act to refer a dispute to adjudication; only a right to do so. However, it was decided that the statute was irrelevant; what was decisive was the contractual agreement to refer disputes to adjudication. The court has inherent jurisdiction to order a stay for breach of an agreement to refer disputes to a particular form of dispute resolution and the persuasive burden would be on the party seeking to resist the stay.
