Architect Skidmore, Owings & Merrill is counter-suing engineer Jacobs over a multibillion-pound engineering scheme in Qatar.

Jacobs claims it is owed 拢4.7m in unpaid fees on the Doha project and is taking action against SOM for failing to pass on the payment.

But the architect has hit back with a counter-claim of over 拢1m, saying that no further sums are due, and alleging inadequate design and flawed costing against the engineer.

A lawyer for Jacobs, which asked for a summary judgment on the original claim from the High Court, told the court that SOM鈥檚 claim was 鈥渕anufactured, spurious and to be treated with considerable caution鈥�.

At the hearing, Justice Coulson awarded a summary judgment against SOM of 拢68,766 and ordered it to pay 拢343,199 into the court if it wished to pursue the counter-claim. SOM has already incurred as much as 拢200,000 in legal expenses before the main dispute has even reached the High Court.

It also emerged that SOM architect Ashley O鈥機onnor had accidentally sent an e-mail in April to Jacobs UK calling the payment issues 鈥渁nother fun thing to deal with鈥� and saying partner Peter Magill 鈥渞eally does not want to pay these guys鈥�.

O鈥機onnor later admitted it had not been intended to be sent to Jacobs.

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