Universal sought a declaration that the Act did not apply to a dispute between it and Flairnote since there was no contract. Universal’s argument was that it had appointed Sulzer as project manager to the works and that the terms of that appointment meant that Sulzer was responsible for the provision of the executed works and would therefore enter into any contract as principal and not agent for Universal.
On the facts the Judge found that Sulzer was the duly appointed agent of Universal and that Sulzer had entered into the contract with Flairnote in exactly that capacity so that the provisions of the Act were held to apply to the dispute in question.