Expert Witness Journal Issue 68 August 2026 - Flipbook - Page 21
Can Contractors Resist Enforcement
of an Adjudicator’s Decision?
Lessons from Kingsmead Homes v
Laycock Mechanical Services [2025]
by Michael O’Connor, Partner & William Mortimer, Paralegal at Charles Russell Speechlys.
A Technology and Construction Court (TCC)
ruling demonstrates that adjudicators’ decisions
may be successfully challenged where a clear error
has been made by the adjudicator which would be
unconscionable for the court to ignore.
What Was the Dispute About?
Kingsmead Homes Ltd (the contractor) engaged
Laycock Mechanical Services Ltd (the subcontractor)
to carry out plumbing and electrical works. A
dispute arose when Kingsmead deducted liquidated
damages, alleging that Laycock had caused delays
on site.
In Kingsmead Homes Ltd v Laycock Mechanical
Services Ltd, the court granted declaratory
relief under Part 8 of the Civil Procedure Rules,
enabling the contractor to resist enforcement of an
adjudicator’s decision. The case o昀昀ers important
guidance on how construction programmes can
form part of subcontracts and when the courts
will intervene to correct an adjudicator’s material
oversight.
EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL
Laycock referred the matter to adjudication and
was awarded £27,895.26 plus VAT and £4,000 in
fees. When Kingsmead refused to pay, Laycock
commenced Part 7 enforcement proceedings
and sought summary judgment under the wellestablished “pay now, argue later” principle.
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JULY | AUGUST 2026
