YJL pursues Arup over contract delay

YJL Construction is pursuing design consultant Ove Arup for nearly £250,000 in damages for an alleged breach of contract.

The building firm, which was main contractor on the 2001 redevelopment and refurbishment of Tower House, 3-11 Southampton Street in London's Covent Garden, claims Arup caused significant delay to the project.

The dispute centres around Arup's design of 20 precast concrete staircases for the office and retail site.

In its writ, filed at the Technology and Construction Court, YJL claimed that Arup produced a defective design, which meant that cracking was liable to develop at the crank of the staircase.

Cracking appeared in the first two staircases that were installed on the site, at which point Arup said the design and the staircases that had already been produced should be scrapped, with new units to be manufactured according to a revised design.

YJL said it was forced to pay £465,520 in a 2006 settlement agreement to the employer for the equivalent of an 11.5-week delay. It alleges that Arup's design accounted for just over half that period and is claiming £242,880.