A challenge was made on the basis that the adjudicator had made an error of law in that the adjudicator had based the decision on the operation of clause 30.3.5 of the JCT Standard Form of Building Contract With Contractor's Design 1998 Edition. Judgements which concluded that an adjudicator's decision was not susceptible to attack on the grounds of error of fact or law did not apply where the decision was based on the application of a contractual provision which did not form part of the agreement between the parties to the adjudication.

In this case, the adjudicator had failed to understand the operation of the JCT contract, the Act and the Scheme. The judge held that, as no election had been made between alternative A and B in appendix 2 of the contract clause 30 could not apply, and so the Scheme applied. As a result the adjudicator had answered the wrong question by apply the mechanisms in clause 30 and so had acted in excess of jurisdiction. The decision was not enforced.