Frances Pigott
July 2017
A paper presented to the Society of Construction Law at a meeting in London on 4th July 2017
Does a claimant have to prove liability and quantum on every variation or defect claimed, or will proof of a sample suffice? Defendants face similar questions when defending claims, particularly where costs in the action are budget limited. In this paper, Frances Pigott reviews the TCC decision in Amey LG v Cumbria County Council and considers whether the judge’s finding on the use of sampling in that case might be applied more widely in construction cases, its effectiveness as a means of proving claims, whether sampling is cost efficient and the importance of pre-trial case management in the sampling process.
Introduction – Probability and non-probability sampling – Background to the contract – The sampling process – Selecting the sample – (1) Probability sampling – (2) Non-probability sampling.
The author: Frances Pigott is a barrister practising at Atkin Chambers in London.
Text: 12 pages