Construction News quotes David Savage on a recent fire safety ruling and the implications of this
Housing association Martlet Homes last week won an £8m case against contractor Mulalley in which the judge condemned “endemic complacency” in the construction industry over cladding fitted prior to the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017.
David Savage, Partner, provides comment for Construction News.
He comments:
"Although clearly fact-specific as any case is, this is an interesting and important case, for fairly obvious reasons given the number of similar points being taken in relation to Grenfell-related fire safety remediation cases currently.
In particular, I would anticipate many will note the awarding of the ‘waking watch’ costs and the failure of the ‘it was an upgrade’ argument."
He continues:
The construction industry had suffered an “unflattering outcome arising from the evidence heard at the Grenfell public inquiry, [so] there will be many who will be pleased to see this first decision go the way that it did.
But that does not mean other decisions will necessarily go the same way. Judges will always seek to apply the law to the facts as they determine them.”
Read the full article in Construction News here.
