The High Court recently allowed a defendant's application for the release to him of a sum of money paid into court by the plaintiffs in order to fortify an asset freezing injunction that the plaintiffs had obtained against (among others) the defendant. The case reviews some interesting legal issues with regard to Quistclose trust claims in the context of payments into court. It also draws attention to the status of money paid into court for the purpose of fortifying an undertaking as to damages once that purpose becomes spent.

As cashflow is crucial for main contractors in any ongoing construction project, prompt and expeditious payments by the employer are often expected. However, if the main contractor is dissatisfied with the payment certificate, can the main contractor sue the consultant for negligence? The Court of Appeal recently addressed this question and unanimously upheld a high court decision in dismissing a main contractor's claim against a consultant.

The High Court recently found that a tribunal's admission of a simple computational error, and its refusal to correct it, was a serious irregularity that caused substantial injustice. Based on this, the court remitted an arbitration award back to the tribunal for correction. This is an interesting case; it is rare for Section 68 challenges to be successful and even rarer for an English court judge to find that there has been a serious irregularity that caused or would cause substantial injustice in such a straightforward manner.