Wrongful Termination Dispute Resolved

Contract Advice

Wrongful Termination of Employment

A negotiation is one of the simplest ways to resolve a construction dispute, yet it is often overlooked.

Summary

A specialist subcontractor’s employment was terminated under a bespoke form of contract, by notice from its client’s solicitors. The main contractor refused to pay for the work completed. They also applied contra charges, for employing others to complete the remaining works and for alleged defects.  We were appointed to advise the subcontractor on the prospects of recovering any further payment.

The Problem

A specialist subcontractor’s employment was terminated under a bespoke form of subcontract, by notice from its client’s solicitors. The main contractor refused to pay an outstanding interim payment and alleged that no further sums were due. The main contractor claimed costs for employing others to complete the remaining works and having to pay rectification costs for alleged defects. The subcontractor sought our assistance to assess the prospects of recovering any further payments.

Appointment and Action

Lakeside Construction Claims Consultants were appointed to provide advice and to recover any sums due for payment.

We carefully reviewed the subcontract terms and the notice of termination. A careful analysis of the background facts and the law was undertaken.  It became apparent, that the specialist subcontractor’s employment had been incorrectly determined by its employer.

Lakeside wrote to the main contractor’s solicitors setting out the legal position and explaining our client’s entitlements as a result of the breaches of contract.  We assisted our client with collating substantiation documents for the sums claimed and in defence of the contra charges. These were presented to the main contractor.

Lakeside invited the main contractor to agree the final account in order to bring closure to the matter.

Result

The main contractor assessed the claim and defences prepared by Lakeside and accepted an invitation to a negotiation meeting with our client.

Thanks to our support, our client was able to negotiate a satisfactory final account settlement encompassing all the issues between the parties.

Negotiation is one of the simplest ways to resolve a construction dispute, yet it is often overlooked.  A successful negotiation can ensure you maintain a good business relationship with your client.

We can provide advice on your entitlements and assist with preparing or defending construction claims for extensions of time, disruption, loss and expense, changes and any other matters of quantum. If you are faced with negotiation, get in touch and see how our team can support you through the process.

Call us now on 0330 133 6176 or via email at advice@lakeside.consulting for a free, no-obligation discussion with a construction dispute specialist.