How vulnerable are adjudicators’ decisions? Lisa Sinclair investigates
It may have been thought that every which way of challenging an adjudicator’s decision had been explored, but cometh the hour cometh the man. In this case it was Kenneth Dyason who, having watched his family home go up in smoke, was faced with the prospect of paying now and litigating later when the contractor on the rebuild took a dispute to adjudication. The full story was explored in Domsalla v Dyason [2007] EWHC 1174 (TCC), [2007] All ER (D) 255 (May).
When his home burnt down, Dyason made a claim against his building insurer. It took control. It appointed the loss adjuster and—when satisfied that the claim was genuine—the contract administrator and the contractor. It is true that Dyason signed the contract but that was the beginning and end of his involvement. The insurance company prepared the contract, put the venture out to tender and identified the appropriate contractor. The form of contract selected by the insurance company for use was the JCT Minor Works 1998 Edition. Nobody thought it necessary to explain
