Can a final certificate make a low final account binding?
Yes, if a conclusive evidence clause makes the final certificate binding on the matters it names and nobody challenges it in time.
Updated: . By Jack Butler-Kettle, Construction Claims Consultant.
For the routine on the day a certificate arrives, see diarise the final certificate's conclusive evidence period.
The answer
The final certificate is the last certificate on a job, and under JCT it is called the Final Certificate. A conclusive evidence clause is the term that turns it into proof of the matters it names, such as the final value. So a low figure can stand even if you never agreed it. What becomes binding, when the clock starts, how long you have and what counts as a challenge all depend on the actual clause and the facts. A letter objecting to the certificate may not protect you, and nor may ongoing negotiations. Send the certificate, the subcontract and the relevant correspondence to your solicitor straight away. Do not start some quick, generic proceeding on the assumption that it stops the clock.
Example
Illustrative example. The scenario and figures are invented.
The facts
A certificate has arrived under a contract with a conclusive evidence clause. Disputed items remain on the account, and what the certificate does to them is a legal question for the solicitor.
What happens
- The date the certificate arrived is recorded, and the exact finality clause is found in the contract.
- Both go to the solicitor, with the disputed items and details of any proceedings already under way.
- The solicitor confirms the action needed and its deadline from those documents.
- The commercial valuation review keeps moving, without being mistaken for that legal step.
The outcome
The action needed and its deadline come from the solicitor, based on the documents. The valuation review carries on alongside as separate work.
To have any challenge period fixed from your subcontract and the account recovered head by head, see our Final Account Claim service.