Balfour Beatty m&e arm sues Shepherd for £1.4m

Balfour Beatty is suing a contractor for £1.4m in a row over a £65m hospital development in Hull, according to a report in Building magazine.

Haden Young, now part of Balfour Beatty Engineering Services following the merger with Balfour Kilpatrick, had been hired by main contractor Shepherd Construction to carry out m&e works on new facilities at Castle Hill hospital in April 2007.

In a writ filed at the High Court, Balfour Beatty claimed that Shepherd had deducted £2.2m from its payment after the subcontract works came in five months late.

However, on 2 July, an adjudicator ruled that the subcontract completion date should be extended to 10 June 2008, and that Shepherd was not entitled to deduct the costs.

Shepherd was also ordered to cover the adjudicator’s fees and expenses which, added to the other sums, totalled over £1.4m, plus interest and costs.

According to the writ, Shepherd has failed to pay the money and its “final account statement” on 13 July indicated it did not intend to pay.

Both parties declined to comment. An initial hearing is due next week.