Dalton Hale successful in enforcing expert’s determination in Dandara South East Ltd v Medway Preservation Ltd & another (PT-2025-000238)

Dalton Hale successfully acted for the Defendants (Medway) in their application to summarily dismiss the Part 8 claim of the Claimant (Dandara), represented by Tiffany Scott KC (Wilberforce Chambers).

Following the Defendants’ successful application in the High Court to stay proceedings brought in contravention of an expert determination clause (see Dandara South East Ltd v Medway Preservation Ltd [2024] EWHC 2318 (Ch) – Atkin Chambers), the Defendants successfully obtained an expert determination in their favour, and an award of over £2m in damages.

The Claimant subsequently commenced Part 8 proceedings seeking to invalidate the expert determination on the basis that it contained three “manifest errors” (the clause provided that the expert’s determination would be binding and conclusive, save in the case of manifest error). The Defendants brought an application for summary judgment.

In an ex tempore judgment handed down on 10 July 2025, Deputy Master Linwood found that the Claimant had no realistic prospects of persuading the Court at trial that the expert had made a manifest error, and that there was no other compelling reason that the matter should proceed to trial.

Whilst making clear that he had firmly in mind the applicable test for summary judgment, Deputy Master Linwood considered the authorities concerning “manifest error” including the decision of the Court of Appeal in Veba Oil Supply & Trading GmbH v Petrotrade Inc (“The Robin”) [2001] EWCA Civ 1832, where it was explained that a manifest error is an oversight or blunder “so obvious and obviously capable of affecting the determination as to admit of no difference of opinion”. The judge found that each party had raised substantive and properly arguable points before the expert, and that the arguments were finely balanced. He found that the alleged manifest errors before him came nowhere near satisfying the Veba Oil test and that the alleged errors were far from plain and obvious.

Dalton Hale was instructed by Warners Law LLP.