A court battle between a major affordable housing provider and a contractor over the cladding on five towers in Portsmouth goes to the Court of Appeal today.
Martlet Homes, an arm of affordable housing provider Hyde Group, is suing contractor Mulalley, claiming £8m for the costs of replacing all the cladding at Gosport Towers, Portsmouth, and to provide a “waking watch” to protect residents’ safety.
Hyde claims the cladding is unsafe and didn’t comply with building regulations.
According to an earlier ruling, Hyde entered into a £15m design-and-build contract with Mulalley in 2005. Mulalley agreed to carry out various design and refurbishment works on the five-tower complex, including the design and installation of external cladding.
The work was completed in 2008, and in 2019 Hyde issued court proceedings against Mulalley, alleging negligence and breach of contract in the design and construction of the work. The case was brought a few days before the expiry of the limitation period to sue over much of the works.
According to the earlier ruling, Mulalley, in its defence, admitted a number of breaches of contract but required Hyde to prove some of the allegations.
However, it denied that the alleged breach of contract had caused any loss, and argued that following the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017, Hyde was required to replace the combustable expanded polystyrene (EPS) cladding fitted to the towers.
Hyde and Mulalley are currently involved in a procedural dispute about the nature of the claim, complicated by the fact that any new claim brought by Hyde may be time-barred.
Mulalley is seeking to appeal a judgment in February handed down by a judge at the Technology and Construction Court that allowed Hyde to amend parts of its claim.
