The developer of Embassy Gardens, a mixed-use glass-and-steel development on London’s South Bank, has lost a legal dispute with a German curtain wall and glazing company over delays to completion.
Eco World Ballymore Embassy Gardens Company (EWB) has been seeking more than £1m from Dobler UK, a unit of German glazier Dobler Metallbau GmbH, arguing it is owed around £1.4m fees on a contract already worth more than £8m.
The case, which has already been though three rounds of alternative dispute resolution, centres on the “liquidated damages” provisions in the contract between EWB and Dobler.
The provisions state that damages for late completion should be set at £25,000 per week, after a four-week grace period, and be capped at around £600,000. EWB argues that the provision is void and unenforceable.
The building work was due to be completed in April 2018, but instead finished in December. When settling up, EWB claimed general damages for delay, and argued it had overpaid Dobler by more than £1m.
At arbitration and at High Court hearings in January and March lawyers for Dobler argued that the liquidated damages provisions should be applied instead of general damages, capping the deduction from the final bill, and leaving Dobler owed money by EWB.
And in a judgment handed down today, Mrs Justice O’Farrell agreed with Dobler. She ruled that the liquidated damages provision was enforceable, and should stand. She also ruled that, even if that provision were not enforceable, EWB damages should be capped at 7% of the final contract sum, or around £600,000.
Eco World – Ballymore Embassy Gardens Company Ltd v Dobler UK Ltd
Technology and Construction Court (QBD) (O’Farrell J) 3 August 2021
