Construction & Engineering
Benedict was exposed to a variety of construction disputes during pupillage while sitting with Carlo Taczalski and Richard Sage. He has experience of adjudication, arbitration, party wall act disputes and he has dealt with everything from domestic renovation projects with informal contracts to large commercial projects on JCT standard terms.
His recent work includes:
- Bespoke measurement contract – drafted a Defence on behalf of a drylining subcontractor facing a claim in excess of £120,000 for restitution of sums paid by the main contractor pursuant to an adjudication on the basis that these sums were in respect of work which had been measured incorrectly, and that the formalities for instructing additional work had not been properly followed.
- Domestic construction – drafted a Defence and counterclaim on behalf of a main contractor facing a claim for unpaid invoices for additional work by a sub-contractor who had negligently installed a basement waterproof membrane.
- Adjudication enforcement – appeared as sole counsel on behalf of the successful Claimant to enforce an adjudication award of over £130,000 in the TCC. A winding-up order had been made against the Defendant between the adjudication decision’s issuance and the enforcement hearing so Benedict also had to obtain leave to proceed under s. 130(2) of the Insolvency Act 1986.
- Domestic construction – drafted Particulars of Claim and a Reply and Defence to Counterclaim on behalf of a homeowner whose home was ruined by a cowboy builder following a botched renovation. Involved issues of defective works, delay, the valuation of additional works, and habitability under the Defective Premises Act 1972.
- Domestic construction – (during pupillage) assisted Richard Sage in Caudle Developments Limited v Warren, a three-day Central London CC TCC trial involving a dispute over which party was responsible for obtaining the regulatory approval for moving hibernating bats, and competing claims that the opposing party was in repudiatory breach of contract. Widely reported in the media and available at https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/frank-warren-s-wife-in-court-bout-over-bats-in-the-attic-qzzdd60
- Party Wall Act disputes – (during pupillage) drafted a Defence on behalf of Party Wall Act surveyor who faced allegations of negligence for failing to order an intrusive structural survey into the Claimant’s property before approving work pursuant to the Act.
- Arbitration – assisting Carlo Taczalski with a multi-million pound arbitration which concerned delay on civil engineering works at a powerplant under a bespoke contract.
Selected Cases
View full profile »Awards
- Academic Scholarship, Oriel College (2017-2019)
- Oriel College Prize for Finals results (2019)
- Finalist (top 12 of over 100 essays), Times Law Awards (2020)
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Qualifications
- BA Jurisprudence (Double First, 9/250 in cohort); Oriel College, University of Oxford
- Bachelor of Civil Law (Distinction); Oriel College, University of Oxford
- Bar Vocational Studies (Distinction); City, University of London
