Published Wednesday 5 August 2026 · By the JustEng team
The summer has produced an unusually dense run of building safety judgments in the English courts, alongside a steadily advancing criminal file on Grenfell and an ongoing collapse investigation in the Philippines. Each of these stories tells you something about where investigative and quantum work is heading — and therefore about forensic engineer recruitment and expert witness hiring over the next twelve months.
Mulalley v Sto: 87.5 per cent contribution awarded against a cladding supplier
In Mulalley & Co Ltd v Sto Ltd & Sto SE & Co KGaA [2026] EWHC 1552 (TCC), handed down on 22 June 2026, Mr Justice Pepperall assessed for the first time the quantification of a contractor’s contribution claim against the supplier of a defective external wall system. Mulalley had refurbished Parkside Court in Chelmsford in 2006 using the StoTherm Classic system, settled with the building owner after the cladding was identified as defective post-Grenfell, and then claimed contribution under section 149 of the Building Safety Act 2022. The court awarded 87.5 per cent, giving judgment against the German parent company in the sum of £1,772,312.17. Case analysis from Clyde & Co.
Hiring angle: A judgment that turns on product performance, specification and remediation cost sharpens demand for materials-literate forensic engineers who can give evidence on external wall system behaviour as well as quantum. Consultancies building out this capability are competing for a very small pool, which is exactly the kind of search that needs headhunting rather than advertising.
Building liability orders reach across corporate groups in Crest Nicholson v Ardmore
Mr Justice Constable’s decision in Crest Nicholson Regeneration Ltd v Ardmore Construction Ltd [2026] EWHC 789 (TCC) remains the leading High Court authority on building liability orders under the Building Safety Act 2022, confirming they can extend liability beyond the original contracting entity to associated companies in the same corporate group. The Ardmore defendants have indicated an intention to appeal. Commentary from Pump Court Chambers.
Hiring angle: Once liability can be traced across a group, claimants investigate further back into design and construction records, which lengthens instructions and increases the volume of defect investigation work. That sustained workload is what is driving candidate demand for forensic and building pathology specialists at senior associate and director level.
Grenfell evidence files continue moving to the CPS
The Metropolitan Police has confirmed that 15 of 20 evidence files have been passed to the Crown Prosecution Service, with the remaining files due by 30 September 2026 and charging decisions expected before June 2027. Some 57 individuals and 20 organisations are under investigation, with offences under consideration including corporate manslaughter, gross negligence manslaughter, fraud, health and safety offences and misconduct in public office. Reported by Construction Management.
Hiring angle: Criminal proceedings on this scale draw on fire engineers, materials specialists and document-heavy investigative teams for years rather than months. Firms positioning for that work should be recruiting fire and forensic engineers now, because availability tightens sharply once instructions land.
TCC refuses summary judgment in remediation agreement dispute
In Durkan Estates Ltd v Wallace Estates Ltd [2026] EWHC (TCC), the court refused a freeholder’s application for summary judgment following the purported termination of a remediation agreement dated 1 July 2024, entered into against the background of a remediation order made in January 2024 in relation to Centrillion Point in Croydon. The judgment is a caution against summary applications in disputes turning on detailed factual and expert evidence. Analysis from Mayer Brown.
Hiring angle: Where the courts decline to shortcut a case, the expert evidence burden grows and instructing parties need investigators who can hold up under cross-examination. That is a recruitment problem as much as a legal one, and it favours candidates who pair technical depth with genuine report-writing and testimony experience.
Angeles City collapse investigation examines contractor liability
Investigations continue into the collapse of a nine-storey mixed-use building under construction in Barangay Balibago, Angeles City in the Philippines on 24 May 2026, which killed dozens of workers who had been sleeping on site. The Angeles City government, the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Philippine National Police are examining possible structural defects, permit violations and lapses in safety protocols, and the project had previously been subject to a work stoppage order issued by the Department of Labour and Employment in September 2025 over occupational safety and health violations. Reported by the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Hiring angle: Multi-agency collapse investigations of this kind are a reminder that structural failure analysis is a genuinely international practice area, and UK-based experts are regularly instructed overseas. Engineers with site investigation and collapse mechanics experience remain some of the hardest people in the market to source.
JustEng is a specialist engineering recruitment agency headhunting forensic engineers, expert witnesses and building pathology specialists for consultancies and loss adjusters. See our forensic engineering recruitment service and the latest benchmarks in our forensic engineering salary guide. Hiring? Register your vacancy. Looking to move? Submit your CV for a confidential discussion.