Court papers allege Morgan Sindall responsible for 拢7.5m costs due to 鈥榮erious defects鈥� at Liverpool project
Contractors Morgan Sindall and Amec are locked in a legal row over a 拢16m hotel project in Liverpool, 黑洞社区 can reveal.
The dispute centres on the responsibility for liabilities arising due to defects on the Malmaison Hotel and Apartments project on Liverpool鈥檚 historic Princes Dock, which Amec argues were transferred to Morgan Sindall as part of the sale of its construction business to the firm in 2007.
According to papers filed in the Technology and Construction Court and seen by 黑洞社区, Amec is suing Morgan Sindall to recover 拢7.5m in costs it incurred through the rectification of 鈥渟erious defects鈥� at the hotel.
Amec won the 拢16m contract to build the 11-storey hotel and apartment complex in 2005, with the project completed in 2007.
The hotel, designed by architect Leach Rhodes Walker, has 131 rooms and suites as well as a brasserie, a leisure suite and conferencing facilities, with the top five storeys set out as 41 luxury apartments.
However, according to the court papers, upon completion the client noted a number of defects to the building, including 鈥渕ultiple defects in the cladding, curtain walling and glazing, including defects which affected the safety of the cladding鈥� as well as problems which affected the fire safety of the building.
鈥淧rompt and comprehensive rectification was required due to the serious safety risk associated with the defects,鈥� the court papers said, with Amec undertaking the works at a total cost of 拢7.5m.
However, Amec claims that responsibility for the cost of the rectification works lay with Morgan Sindall, as the liability for the Malmaison job was transferred to Morgan Sindall when the contractor bought Amec鈥檚 construction business in 2007.
The court papers state that as part of that deal Amec paid Morgan Sindall 拢44m to cover liabilities transferred in the sale and that the two firms agreed that 鈥渋n relation to certain contracts Morgan Sindall would be liable for the rectification of defects of which it knew or ought to reasonably have known鈥�.
It added: 鈥淭he Malmaison building contract was such a contract.鈥�
Amec argues that Morgan Sindall 鈥渒new or ought to have known鈥� of the defects as a large number of employees from its construction business transferred over to Morgan Sindall as part of the sale, including workers 鈥渋ntimately involved in the construction of the Malmaison hotel鈥�, while the defects on the project were set out by the client.
Morgan Sindall and Amec declined to comment.
Legacy problems
The dispute over the Malmaison hotel is not the first time Morgan Sindall and Amec have come into difficulties over legacy projects stemming from the sale of Amec鈥檚 construction business in 2007.
The two firms are also involved in a dispute over their high-profile 拢150m nuclear submarine jetty project in Scotland, with the firms seeking to limit their liability for the project鈥檚 estimated 拢94m cost overruns.
As revealed in 黑洞社区 in 2012, the firms could be forced to bear a combined total of at least 拢50m in costs due to ongoing delays to the Faslane SSN Berthing Project - also known as the Valiant Jetty - which started in May 2004 and was due for completion in October 2008, but was finished more than four years late.
Amec was originally sole contractor for the jetty, but after Morgan Sindall acquired Amec鈥檚 construction business, which had been part of the team working on the job, this left the project a 50:50 joint venture between Morgan Sindall and the remaining independent Amec business.
Amec has since been engaged in a long-running battle with the Ministry of Defence over the extent of the firms鈥� liability for the cost overruns under the contract.
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