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United Kingdom

First guidance on Building Liability Orders: TCC in Wilmott Dixon v Prater permits BLOs to proceed alongside main claims; defendants may seek BLOs by way of contribution (England and Wales)

Published on: 07 June 2024

Published by a LexisNexis Construction expert
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Wilmott Dixon Construction Ltd v Prater Ltd and others [2024] EWHC 1190 (TCC) What are the practical implications of this case?

This ruling marks the first reported instance of a court considering an application for a BLO under section 130 of the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA 2022). Under BSA 2022, s 130, the High Court may issue a BLO where it regards it as just and equitable to do so.

A BLO provides that a ‘relevant liability’ incurred by one corporate body (the original body) is also owed by a corporate body linked with it (the associate). ‘Relevant liabilities’ include those arising from ‘building safety risks’, or under the Defective Premises Act 1972. Corporate bodies are associated if one controls the other, or a third body controls both, in accordance with BSA 2022, s 131.

Consequently, BLOs could be pursued against the parent or sister company of a construction company that performed defective works but had ceased to exist or had become insolvent before it could meet its liability for those defects...

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