Construction Disputes & Adjudication
Construction disputes are won on the programme, the payment certificate and the extension-of-time claim. We act for employers, contractors and subcontractors, and we choose the forum — adjudication, arbitration or court — by what actually gets you paid or protected fastest.
Payment, delay and defects disputes — resolved by statutory adjudication under CIPAA 2012, arbitration, or litigation, whichever the contract and the cash-flow demand.
What we handle
- Statutory adjudication under CIPAA 2012 — claiming and defending payment claims
- Enforcement of adjudication decisions (s.28) and stay applications (s.16)
- Setting aside adjudication decisions (s.15)
- Construction arbitration under PAM, PWD, CIDB and FIDIC forms
- Delay, disruption, extension-of-time and liquidated-damages disputes
- Defects, final-account and variation disputes
Our approach to a construction & cipaa matter
Fix the payment position
Under CIPAA, cash flows to the party with the better-documented claim. We get the payment claim or payment response right, because the adjudicator works largely from the papers and a short timetable.
Run the adjudication
Adjudication is fast — a decision usually within 45 working days of the response. We prepare the whole case up front, because there is no time to build it as you go.
Enforce or resist
A decision can be enforced as a judgment under s.28, stayed under s.16, or set aside under s.15 on limited grounds. We move quickly on whichever applies to you.
The final reckoning
Adjudication decides payment on an interim basis. The final account may still go to arbitration or court, and we position the adjudication so it helps, not hinders, the larger dispute.
The team for construction & cipaa
Construction & CIPAA: the questions we are asked
How fast is a CIPAA adjudication?
Fast by design. Once the payment claim and response are served, the adjudicator is generally required to decide within 45 working days. Because the timetable is short and largely document-driven, the case must be substantially ready before it begins — which is where early advice pays for itself.
The other side won an adjudication. Must we pay immediately?
An adjudication decision is binding and enforceable as a judgment unless and until it is set aside, stayed or finally decided otherwise in arbitration or court. There are limited grounds to set it aside (s.15) or to stay enforcement (s.16). Speak to us at once — the windows are short.
Does adjudication stop us from arbitrating?
No. Adjudication decides payment on an interim basis only. The dispute can still be finally determined by arbitration or the court under your contract, and the final tribunal is not bound by the adjudicator’s view.