M&E contractor pays Fitzpatrick for losses owing to delay

An M&E firm has agreed to pay £10.25m to end a lengthy legal battle over the ruinous refurbishment of the Blackwall Tunnel in east London.

Civil engineering firm Fitzpatrick filed a writ against M&E subcontractor Tyco Fire and Integrated Solutions in July 2007, in a bid to recover losses suffered after delays on the tunnel refurbishment lasted more than three years.

The £15.4m contract was initially for a two-year scheme, which began in March 2002.

The hearing had been expected to take place in November 2008, but was pushed back after the judge ruled neither side was ready for a trial.

In October, Mr Justice Coulson said of the case: “This is a complex case which will involve a large amount of consideration of the detail. Fitzpatrick is not ready for a trial and Tyco is not ready, in my judgement, for the sort of detailed trial that would have to take place.”

At a hearing on 13 February, Cambridge-based Tyco agreed to pay Dutch-owned firm Fitzpatrick £10.25m, with additional costs in the region of £2.5m.

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