Riaz Hussain QC successfully establishes that a party in liquidation can proceed with an adjudication

Riaz Hussain QC acted in the first reported case where a Party in liquidation succeeded in being allowed to proceed with an adjudication.

In Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering Ltd & Anor v Astec Projects Ltd [2020] EWHC 796 (TCC) (27 February 2020) Astec successfully established that it could provide adequate security and was allowed to conditionally proceed with an adjudication.

The Defendant established that the exceptional circumstances envisaged by the Court of Appeal in Bresco whereunder a Party in liquidation would not be injuncted from adjudicating were met. The claim for an injunction to prohibit the adjudication was dismissed. Waksman J noted that under Bresco a party in liquidation can only proceed with an adjudication in exceptional circumstances. However it was accepted that the exceptional criteria were met on the facts. The judgment also considers the requirements of rule 14.25 of the Insolvency Rules 2016 and in particular that the rule does not require the final net balance of the mutual dealings between the Parties to be determined in a single adjudication or proceedings.

Riaz Hussain QC and Chantelle Staynings (instructed by Gateley Plc) for the Defendant.

To read the full judgment please click here: Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering Ltd & Anor v Astec Projects Ltd [2020] EWHC 796 (TCC)

27 February 2020