Court of Appeal rules payment by steel contractors to main contractor on Wembley stadium Brookfield should be cut by 49%

The ruling for Cleveland Bridge UK to pay Brookfield Construction 拢4.2m over a dispute on the Wembley stadium project has been partly over-turned.

The Court of Appeal reduced the judgement to 拢1.8m, meaning that with interest taken into account, Brookfield (formerly Multiplex Construction UK) would be forced to return some 拢3m - 49% - of the original award.

In 2008, Multiplex, the main contractor for the new Wembley stadium, launched litigation against CBUK - which had agreed a 拢60m subcontract for steelwork, including the stadium arch - claiming there were errors in the design and fabrication of steelwork for the project.

CBUK was found to be in breach of contract for walking off the project in 2004 following a dispute over payment.

In a September hearing during 2008, which had been expected to conclude the epic legal battle, Judge Jackson ruled that CBUK owed Multiplex for damages for breach of contract, overpayments and interest. It had been seeking up to 拢25m, although damages were capped at 拢6m.

Last week, however, the Court of Appeal ruled that the calculation for the initial judgment had been incorrectly made on the basis of work actually completed.

The parties will present agreed figures on the impact of the Court of Appeal's judgment on 5 March 2009 and the costs implications of the Court of Appeal's judgment will be put forward by the parties by 19 March 2010.

The dispute is one of a series of actions over the Wembley project. The stadium was completed a year late in 2007 at a cost of 拢757m, compared with an original guaranteed maximum of 拢458m.

Multiplex and CBUK have spent about 拢22m so far over the legal wrangling, with the bill for photocopying alone adding up to 拢1m.

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