Published Friday 31 July 2026 · By the JustEng team
A significant week for construction disputes: the Technology and Construction Court declined to enforce a seven-figure adjudication award, the first judicial quantification of a cladding contribution claim landed, and a state-level corruption inquiry opened in Australia. Here is what happened and what each development means for forensic engineer recruitment and expert witness hiring.
TCC refuses to enforce £1.65m adjudication award
In Premier Modular Ltd v Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, the Technology and Construction Court refused to enforce a £1.65m adjudication award, finding the adjudicator had decided the dispute on a basis neither party had advanced or had a fair opportunity to address. Commentators stress the decision does not weaken the courts’ general support for adjudication, where enforcement remains the norm. Mills & Reeve
Hiring angle: Natural justice challenges push parties towards fuller technical submissions at first instance, which increases candidate demand for delay and quantum analysts who can build a defensible record early. Consultancies handling adjudication support are recruiting accordingly.
First quantification of a cladding contribution claim under the Building Safety Act
In Mulalley & Co Ltd v Sto Ltd & Sto SE & Co KGaA [2026] EWHC 1552 (TCC), the High Court assessed for the first time how to quantify a contractor’s contribution claim against the supplier of a defective external wall system. Mulalley, which had settled with the building owner over Parkside Court in Chelmsford, pursued Sto under s.149 of the Building Safety Act 2022 and sought a building liability order against Sto’s German parent under s.130 after Sto entered administration. Mayer Brown
Hiring angle: Contribution claims live or die on materials and system-level evidence, so demand for facade and materials specialists able to act as testifying experts continues to outstrip supply. Our forensic engineering recruitment team is seeing consistent instructions in this niche.
Court restates the limits on demolition as a remedy
Deputy High Court Judge Alan Bates restated in a July judgment that ordering full demolition and rebuild is an extreme course, legally justified only where a building is fundamentally unsafe or structurally irreparable. The decision reinforces proportionality as the governing test in defect remedy disputes. Construction News
Hiring angle: Where demolition is off the table, the argument shifts to repair scope and cost, and that is squarely structural engineering expert territory. Firms are headhunting chartered engineers with both remedial design and report-writing credibility — a rarer combination than employers assume.
Manhattan high-rise investigation follows buckled columns
Two structural columns on the 21st floor of an active construction site on East 42nd Street in Manhattan were found bent on 7 July, with some floors sagging, prompting the evacuation of several blocks. New York’s Department of Buildings said the structure had not moved since monitoring began and confirmed an exhaustive investigation into the cause. CNN
Hiring angle: Near-miss investigations of this profile trigger immediate recruitment for structural investigation engineers and instrumentation specialists on both sides of the Atlantic. UK-qualified engineers with steelwork and temporary works experience are well positioned for these roles.
Victoria opens royal commission into construction sector corruption
A royal commission into alleged corruption in Victoria’s construction sector will have powers to investigate the state government itself, with a scope covering top-tier contractors, subcontractors, labour hire and unions. Newcastle Herald
Hiring angle: Public inquiries of this breadth generate long-running demand for forensic accountants, programme forensics specialists and construction investigators. It is a reminder that forensic engineering vacancies are driven as much by governance failures as by physical ones.
Landlord found in breach over combustible ACM cladding
In Essendi UK Hotels 2 Ltd v LPC, the operator of a multistorey Wembley hotel brought proceedings against its freehold landlord after discovering combustible ACM cladding on the external walls, with the dispute turning on who bore responsibility for remedial works. The High Court found the landlord in breach of both covenants. Kennedys
Hiring angle: Landlord and tenant cladding disputes keep fire engineers and PAS 9980 assessors in short supply, and salaries in that niche continue to reflect it — see our forensic engineering salary guide for current benchmarks.
JustEng is a specialist engineering recruitment agency headhunting forensic engineers, expert witnesses and disputes specialists worldwide. If you are considering a move into forensic or disputes work, submit your CV for a confidential discussion. If you are building a team, register your vacancy and we will begin the search.