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Several years ago Dabinett provided an expert witness, on behalf of a contractor who had a claim made against them.
The dispute that had come about was in respect to the construction of a new extension.
In the summer works commenced on the construction of a new extension, matters generally progressed favourably. However, during August the contractor took some time off for holidays. During this downtime a second contractor happened to be passing the property and was sufficiently motivated to speak with the homeowner to comment on the quality of the construction (noting works had stopped).
Finding any contractor complimentary of another’s work is very rare, this case was no exception. Doubt was sown in the householder’s mind when the second contractor flagged up a myriad of issues. So persuasive was the second builder, the homeowner broke off the agreement with the original builder, demolish what had been completed and restart with the new builder.
The homeowner, naturally, was upset that the original work was apparently so poor. Aside from the upset of wasted time there was the matter of circa £40,000, which had been paid. The second contractor had confirmed all the origina work must be taken down.
Dabinett reviewed the claim, considering the issues raised about the quality of work, alleged omissions and the methodology. An expert witness report was drafted and issued.
The general findings were that works were only partially completed, so many of the issues raised simply were in respect to unfinished work. Some items of the claim were in respect to elements of design, which fell under the responsibility of the homeowner’s designer. In some instances drawings had conflicting information from one plan to another.
An expert was appointed for the householder, but all eventually went quiet, with each item of the claim being robustly refuted.
To add to the weight of the defence, was that works of the original builder had been signed off at each stage by an Approved Inspector (now called Registered Building Control Approver).
Ultimately the original contractor avoided having to pay the circa £40,000 claim. The householder though will have paid for the original works, the demolition and the rebuilding; all of which stemmed from the advice given by the second contractor. The householder will have seen an additional expsense of circa £50,000-60,000 on an extension that should have cost approximately £100,000.
The case was broadly unsatisfactory, the householder placed a reliance upon the second contractor, broke the contract with the original builder and then paid again for work that had been carried out already.
What should have occurred is the householder should have sought professional advice, not relying upon a party with conflicting interests.
For Dabinett’s client the result was excellent, albeit the stress of having a claim was far from ideal.
The primary lesson from this is to seek independent advice, from qualified professionals. The works could have been overseen by a professional to monitor quality and compliance. This is often seen as too costly, for smaller projects, but often the worst case scenarios justifies the expense. Alternatively, when concerns were raised a professional opinion should then have been sought.
For instances where an expert witness is needed Dabinett can step in, prepare a CPR 35 compliant report and provide an independent professional report that serves to resolve the issues.
Dabinett work on commercial and residential expert witness claims, if you are a claimant, defendant or legal counsel we can help.
