Legal team says the High Court decision has wider implications
Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright announced that it has obtained a favourable decision in a “hugely significant” legal action on behalf of its client, Martlet Homes Limited, in the first High Court judgement regarding a cladding case since the Grenfell Tower disaster in 2017.
Martlet’s claim against Mulalley and Co Limited concerned defective design and installation of cladding manufactured by Sto Ltd, which was installed by Mulalley at four high-rise residential towers in Portsmouth.
Despite Mulalley’s wholesale denial of liability for Martlet’s losses, High Court judge Stephen Davies held that Martlet had succeeded on both its primary and alternative cases, and awarded Martlet substantial damages for the remedial works it undertook to address the defects in the cladding system.
In addition, the judge awarded Martlet damages for the substantial costs of the waking watch service implemented by Martlet as a temporary mitigation measure for the risks posed by the cladding pending its removal.
Martlet is part of the Hyde Housing Group, owning or managing around 50,000 homes in London, Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire, the East of England, and East Midlands.
The law firm said the decision was significant, not only for the Hyde Group, but for many UK building owners facing similar cladding issues as well.
It added that the judgement would hold wider implications for the construction industry as a whole, as well as the real estate and insurance sectors, as it offers guidance on the court’s approach to numerous significant issues affecting the 100s of cladding disputes ongoing in the UK today.
“We’re extremely proud of the role our team played in delivering this outcome on behalf of the Hyde Group, which we hope will promote the resolution of the many cladding-related disputes thanks to the court’s guidance delivered today,” Simon Ramsden, partner at Norton Rose Fulbright, said.
