A judge is set to rule on whether individual firms in unincorporated joint ventures can independently commence and enforce adjudication proceedings.
A High Court ruling on a £24m Hinkley Point C (HPC) adjudication could set a landmark precedent for dispute resolution in large infrastructure joint venture (JV) projects.
In the case, Darchem Engineering Ltd has taken Bylor – the Laing O’Rourke and Bouygues Travaux Publics JV constructing the nuclear site – to the High Court to enforce an adjudication ruling.
Darchem is in its own, unincorporated JV with nuclear reactor manufacturer Framatome Ltd.
It took Bylor to three adjudications in 2025 over delays, changes to the scope of work and payment disputes.
Following the third adjudication, Darchem’s total award stands at £23.94m.
However, Bylor has yet to comply with the orders and argues that Darchem was not allowed to take the action on its own without its unincorporated JV partner Framatome Ltd.
Framatome is part of EDF, the French energy company delivering HPC.
The dispute between the parties stems from a subcontract Darchem and Framatome entered into in October 2018 to design, manufacture and install specialised stainless steel components for HPC, including pools, pits and tanks.
On Wednesday (28 January), Darchem’s barrister Paul Buckingham KC told the Technology and Construction Court that under adjudication any party can act in any dispute at any time.
“Each party can act jointly or separately,” he said.
“Darchem is entitled to act the way it did. We say any adjudication decision is binding.”
He added that the individual firms signed the contract in their own names as separate entities.
Jessica Stephens KC, acting on behalf of Bylor, said there was “never any intention” that Darchem and Framatome could do anything “unilaterally” within the subcontract.
“Together they [Darchem and Framatome] are the subcontractor,” she said.
“This is a simple bilateral contract.”
She argued that if Darchem had sought to terminate the contract it would in that scenario be acting on behalf of both of them.
A central issue for the judge will be the interpretation of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 and whether it allows independent adjudication proceedings by unincorporated JV parties.
If Darchem succeeds, it could set a legal precedent allowing individual parties in unincorporated JVs to initiate independent adjudication proceedings, according to lawyers close to the case.
Last year, Darchem took Bylor to three separate adjudications.
The first was in February 2025 after Darchem complained that Bylor had released design information late, causing a “critical delay” to its subcontracted works.
The adjudicator, Matthew Molloy, found that a 316-day delay had occurred between 21 May 2018 and 15 August 2019. He awarded Darchem £2.4m in costs caused by the setback.
The second adjudication concerned the valuation of work omitted from the contract.
Darchem had placed the value of the omission between nil and £18.8m.
In his decision on 23 July 2025, Molloy – who was again appointed adjudicator – held that the correct value of the omitted work was £31.95m.
However, in a certificate of payment sent on 12 September, Bylor sought to deduct £91.5m – a considerably higher amount than the adjudicator had ruled.
It led to Darchem seeking a third adjudication on 6 October, where it claimed that Bylor had failed to comply with the previous rulings.
On 27 October, Molloy found that Bylor had breached the earlier awards and was contractually required to pay Darchem the corrected sum of £23.94m plus VAT, his fees of £1,787 plus VAT and any accrued interest.
The figure is the net amount owed following the two earlier adjudication awards.
Bylor failed to make the payment by the 3 November deadline set by the adjudicator.
Mr Justice Constable is now set to rule on whether Darchem has been successful in its application for summary judgment.
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Nicola Harley