The claimants appealed an order to pay their builder. They said that though unpleaded, in fact the original contract was illegal and should not be enforced. The agreement had been to inflate the cost artificially so as to increase a claim for a grant, and then to share the excess cost.
Held: There appeared to have been a conspiracy to defraud. The court should not however act upon the basis that such a conspiracy existed unless and until it was satisfied that it had all the circumstances before it. The evidence of an unpleaded fraud should not have been admitted.
Citations:
Times 19-Apr-2003, Gazette 29-May-2003
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Contract
Updated: 27 April 2022; Ref: scu.180874