Construction
Sahana has experience of construction disputes covering adjudications, litigation and arbitration. Sahana is regularly instructed in relation to short-notice adjudication proceedings and has experience of applying for summary judgment to enforce decisions and of acting in Part 8 claims for declaratory relief.
Prior to coming to the Bar, Sahana worked in the International Arbitration and Construction and Engineering teams of a renowned international law firm, spending time in the firm’s London and Paris offices as a legal assistant and a stagiaire. During this time she also contributed to Studies in European Construction Law (2015), published by the European Society of Construction Law.
Sahana is the editor of the chapter on Third Party Rights in Emden’s Construction Law by Crown Office Chambers. In 2023, Sahana also recorded a CPD webinar entitled “Collateral Warranties and Third Party Rights” for Lexis Nexis.
Selected Cases
- Shaylor Group Limited (in administration) v Valescure Property Limited (in liquidation) [2024] EWHC 750 (TCC) – acting on behalf of a company in administration in an unusual Part 8 claim brought by the successful party following an adjudication. The case provides guidance on the interpretation of the Employer’s obligations under clause 8.7.4.3 of the JCT Design and Build terms and a detailed analysis of when a court will exercise its discretion to grant declaratory relief.
- Dunelm Geotechnical & Environmental Limited v Bray Cranes Limited [2023] EWHC 2661 (Comm) – acting as sole counsel in a three-day trial concerning the incorporation of Construction Plant-Hire Association Standard Terms into a contract for crane hire and a lift.
- Giant Trading Company (in liquidation) v Z&K Partners Limited (11 September 2023, Central London CC) – acting on behalf of a Claimant company in liquidation seeking to enforce an adjudication award in its favour. Sahana was successful in obtaining summary judgment on behalf of the Claimant despite its insolvent status and the difficulty of enforcing adjudication awards in such circumstances since John Doyle v Erith.
- Abbey Healthcare (Mill Hill) Ltd v Simply Construct (UK) LLP[2022] EWCA Civ 823 (led by Michele De Gregorio) – acting as junior counsel for the Respondent in a significant case concerning whether a collateral warranty was a construction contract within the meaning of s.104 of the Housing, Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996.
- G&D Brickwork Contractors Limited v Marbank Construction Limited [2021] EWHC 3009 (TCC) – Sahana acted for the responding party in the underlying adjudication, in which the response was served without prejudice to the primary case that the adjudicator had no jurisdiction in the matter. Dermot Woolgar appeared in the High Court in relation to the Part 8 Claim in which enforcement of the adjudicator’s award was refused on the grounds of abuse of process.
- A Company v A Heating Systems Installer – Acting for the defendant in a claim regarding the allegedly defective installation of biomass combined heat and power systems on a farm. The claim involved allegations of misrepresentation and a detailed analysis of the operation of the Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme Regulations 2011.
- A Main Contractor v A Specialist Electrical Subcontractor – drafting a defence to a claim worth £700,000 concerning the allegedly defective installation of busbar for the supply of electricity in a large commercial office block.
- 2 Homeowners v (1) A Contractor and (2) an Architect – drafting pleadings on behalf of a contractor in a claim for allegedly defective construction works at a residential property.
- A Commercial Lender v Supplier – Acting on behalf of a lender following the assignment of a debt for the supply of windows, doors and conservatories to a contractor. The claim was defended on the basis of an entitlement to set-off under contractual warranties given by the supplier.
- A Homeowner v A Contractor – advising and drafting pleadings in a claim against the builder and seller of a residential property relating to damage caused by subsidence and involving breaches of the DPA 1972, negligence and allegations of fraudulent and/or negligent misrepresentation prior to the sale of the property.
Awards
- Norman Tapp Memorial Prize, Grays Inn
- Internship Award, Grays Inn
- Pegasus Scholarship, Inner Temple
- Jonathan Brock KC Memorial Prize, Runner-up, LCLBA – “Forum non conveniens: Is Spiliada still fit for purpose or holed below the water-line?”
- International Professional and Legal Development Grant 2019, Bar Council
Events
Articles
- Adjudication and Collateral Warranties – Court of Appeal reverses TCC decision in Abbey Healthcare (Mill Hill) Limited v Simply Construct (UK) LLP [2022] EWCA Civ 823
- Adjudication – a useful weapon for liquidators or a blunt sword?
News
Qualifications
- LLM International Dispute Resolution, Queen Mary University of London
- MA (Hons) Law with French Law, Christ Church, University of Oxford.
- Certificat Supérieur de Droit Français et Européen (ERASMUS Scholar), Université Paris II (Panthéon-Assas)
- BPTC, BPP University
Languages
- Professional working French
- Intermediate spoken Kannada
- Basic Spanish
- Basic Hindi
Memberships
- COMBAR
- LCIA Young International Arbitration Group
- TECBAR
- Society of Construction Law
- LCLCBA
- Young Fraud Lawyers Association
