The Supreme Court in Triple Point Technology, Inc vs PTT Public Company Ltd [2021] UKSC 29, handed down on Friday 16 July 2021, has made clear a fundamental point of law on liquidated damages.

Sir Rupert Jackson, sitting in the Court of Appeal, had found that the liquidated damages clause providing for liquidated damages to be paid for each day of delay by the contractor “from the due date for delivery up to the date [the employer] accepts such work” did not require liquidated damages to be paid in respect of work that had not been completed (and thus had not been accepted by the employer) before the contract was terminated.

The approach taken by the Court of Appeal raised concern. To many it seemed odd that a contractor could miss a completion date but still avoid payment of liquidated damages simply because the contract was terminated before the obligation was fully completed. Whether the approach taken by the Court of Appeal was based on a principle of law or on the construction of the particular clause was not entirely clear.

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