The Supreme Court has granted permission for URS Corporation Ltd to appeal the decision of the Court of Appeal in the case of URS Corporation Ltd v BDW Trading Ltd [2023] EWCA Civ 772.
The Supreme Court appeal, scheduled to be heard on 2nd to 5th December 2024 by a distinguished panel of seven justices, will consider a number of points of significance for those in construction, real estate and insurance industries arising out of the new Building Safety Act, together with fundamental questions relating to the law of negligence, scope of duty and economic loss which will be of interest to the legal community more generally.
In considering the appeal, the Supreme Court will be asked to consider:
- The scope of an engineer's common law duty of care to a developer and the extent to which the House of Lords decision in Pirelli remains good law.
- The scope of a construction professional's duty to a developer under s1(1) of the Defective Premises Act 1972.
- The meaning and effect of s.135 of the Building Safety Act 2022, which seeks to give retrospective effect to the 30-year limitation period for DPA claims introduced by that Act.
- The meaning and effect of the Contribution Act 1980.
The appeal will be the first occasion on which the Supreme Court will consider the Defective Premises Act and the Building Safety Act.
Commenting on the significance of the appeal, Steven Williams, Partner and Co-head of the Infrastructure, Construction and Energy (ICE) Disputes Group at CMS, says:
"We anticipate the appeal to be instrumental in shaping the answer to questions as to which of those parties with historic involvement in the construction and development of high-rise residential premises should bear the legal responsibility for the costs of rectifying recently discovered defects in those premises.
Our market leading team, alongside a preeminent counsel team, is committed to navigating the intricacies of this important case and contributing to development of the law in the construction and real estate sectors.”
The legal teams representing the parties involved include:
AECOM's Legal Team:
CMS:
Steven Williams, Partner
Catherine Gelder, Partner
Karen Arch, Of Counsel
Leah Horn, Senior Associate
Jessica Scott, Associate
Counsel:
Laurence Rabinowitz KC and Fiona Parkin KC (One Essex Court, Atkin Chambers)
Ronan Hanna and James Ruddell (Atkin Chambers, One Essex Court)
Professor James Goudkamp (University of Oxford)
Barratt's Legal Team:
Osborne Clarke
Counsel:
Mark Howard KC and Simon Hargreaves KC (Brick Court and Keating Chambers)
David Sheard (Keating Chambers)
