{"id":537481,"date":"2026-02-13T12:45:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T12:45:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.constructionnews.co.uk\/?p=537481"},"modified":"2026-02-13T12:57:50","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T12:57:50","slug":"judge-refuses-adjudication-enforcement-over-forged-jct-contract","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.constructionnews.co.uk\/legal\/judge-refuses-adjudication-enforcement-over-forged-jct-contract-13-02-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge refuses \u00a32m adjudication enforcement over \u2018forged\u2019 JCT contract"},"content":{"rendered":"

The High Court has refused to enforce a \u00a32.14m adjudication amid allegations that the JCT contract at its heart was forged.<\/span><\/p>\n

Subcontractor High\u202fTech\u202fConstruction\u202fLtd (HTC) had taken its client WLP Trading & Marketing Ltd (WLP) to court to summarily enforce the adjudication.<\/span><\/p>\n

It related to payment for work HTC claims it carried out on a multimillion-pound development at Willesden Lane, London, which it had commenced in February 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n

HTC said it had been subcontracted by WLP in January 2023 and went to adjudication last September to seek payment. After succeeding, it then applied for summary judgment to enforce it in October 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, following a hearing at the High Court last month, Mr Justice Adam Constable raised concerns that there was a \u201creal prospect\u201d that a trial could prove the contract relied upon for the<\/span> adjudication<\/span><\/a> did not exist.<\/span><\/p>\n

During the case, WLP alleged that the JCT-based subcontract was \u201cfabricated, altered, or misrepresented in a manner which amounts to fraud\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

If correct, this would make the adjudicator\u2019s decision invalid.<\/span><\/p>\n

The judge said there were \u201ctwo starkly competing, mutually exclusive narratives\u201d, and that once the case was concluded, it would follow that \u201cthe unsuccessful party\u2019s version of events had been the product of dishonesty\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

WLP has denied that a binding JCT-based contract was ever agreed with HTC, meaning there may have been no construction contract capable of referral to adjudication.<\/span><\/p>\n

The court was shown evidence from WLP\u2019s independent experts, which was not previously shown to the adjudicator since it was only produced in November 2025 \u2013 after his decision.<\/span><\/p>\n

This included forensic handwriting evidence casting doubt on the signature, as well as digital analysis, suggesting the contract file was generated in June 2023, not January, as HTC contends.<\/span><\/p>\n

WLP also produced a WhatsApp exchange between its owner, Dr Abbas Abboud Essa, and HTC\u2019s sole director, Khalid Osman Khalif Al-Thafeiry, to show that the companies never concluded a JCT subcontract but instead worked under a series of informal enabling-works arrangements.<\/span><\/p>\n

HTC, however, submitted documents and communications that it claimed demonstrated the JCT contract had been properly executed in January 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n

These included a signed contract, an email from Essa promising to send a copy of it following a meeting in January 2023, and an email in June 2023 with the contract attached.<\/span><\/p>\n

After reviewing the evidence, Mr Justice Constable said that at least some of the key documents supported WLP\u2019s contention that the January JCT contract may not have existed.<\/span><\/p>\n

The matter is now expected to proceed to a full trial.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The High Court has refused to enforce a \u00a32.14m adjudication amid allegations that the JCT contract at its heart was forged. Subcontractor High\u202fTech\u202fConstruction\u202fLtd (HTC) had taken its client WLP Trading & Marketing Ltd (WLP) to court to summarily enforce the adjudication. It related to payment for work HTC claims it carried out on a multimillion-pound …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":158858,"featured_media":512996,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[578],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-537481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-legal"],"yoast_head":"\nJudge refuses \u00a32m adjudication enforcement over \u2018forged\u2019 JCT contract | Construction News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The High Court has refused to enforce a \u00a32.14m adjudication amid allegations that the JCT contract at its heart was forged. 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