Court of Appeal hearing: URS Corporation Ltd & anr v BDW trading Ltd
Date: 24 May 2023
Simon Hargreaves KC (leading David Sheard) recently completed a three day hearing in the Court of Appeal. The case raised numerous points of great interest to practitioners including, among others:
- whether Pirelli applies to a case without cracking;
- when cause of action accrues in tort for design defects (construction; sale; and discovery);
- if discovery, where developer has parted with building but remedies defects nonetheless, he has suffered a loss within the scope of duty of a negligent engineer;
- whether developer is owed a duty under s 1(1)(a) of the Defective Premises Act;
- whether a developer can be entitled to contribution from an engineer on grounds that each is liable to owners of dwellings where no claim was ever made or intimated by owners, nor settled; but the remedials were simply performed by the developer when he had no interest in the developments and (Building Safety Act, BSA,aside) any claim from owners against developer would have had available a limitation defence;
- when cause of action for contribution accrues;
- when limitation in contribution expires; and
- application of s 135(3) and (6) of the BSA.
View the hearing here: https://www.judiciary.uk/live-hearings/urs-corporation-ltd-anr-defendants-appellants-v-bdw-trading-ltd-claimant-respondent/
