The defendant was a specialist sub-contractor brought in to lay a floor. In laying the composition floor the defenders used too wet a mixture and applied too thin a top coat and failed to cure the material properly. As a result cracks began to appear in the floor and it started to break up. The floor required replacement and the pursuers contended that while this replacement work was carried out they would lose business and incur irrecoverable overheads. There was no direct contractual relationship between them.
Held: Assuming the allegations to be true, there was a sufficiently close relationship between the parties to give rise to a relationship of care, and if proved, the plaintiff would be entitled to recover its financial losses.
Citations:
[1983] AC 520, [1982] 3 WLR 477, [1982] 3 All ER 201, [1982] UKHL 4, [1982] UKHL 12, [1982] Com LR 221, 1982 SC (HL) 244, 1982 SLT 492, 21 BLR 66
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Followed – Anns and Others v Merton London Borough Council HL 12-May-1977
The plaintiff bought her apartment, but discovered later that the foundations were defective. The local authority had supervised the compliance with Building Regulations whilst it was being built, but had failed to spot the fault. The authority . .
Cited by:
Applied – Tate and Lyle Industries Ltd v Greater London Council HL 24-Mar-1983
The plaintiff had constructed and used two jetties, and dredged a channel down to the Thames for their use. The Council constructed two terminals nearby, the result of which was to cause a build up of silt blocking the channel.
Held: The . .
Cited – Ketteman v Hansel Properties Ltd HL 1987
Houses were built on defective foundations. The purchasers sued the builders and later the architects who designed them. The defendants argued that the houses were doomed from the start so that the cause of action accrued, not when the physical . .
Cited – Pirelli General Cable Works v Oscar Faber and Partners HL 2-Jan-1983
The plaintiff asked the defendant consulting engineer to design an extension to their factory in 1969. Not later than in April 1970, cracks developed in the chimney. In 1977 the cause of the damage was discovered. It arose from design faults in the . .
Cited – Simaan General Contracting Co v Pilkington Glass Ltd CA 17-Feb-1988
The defendant had supplied glass to a contractor. The customer complained that the glass was not uniform, and the contractor now sued the defendant for its losses. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Negligence, Construction, Scotland
Updated: 08 June 2022; Ref: scu.189984