Smash and grab adjudication: definition and example
An adjudication that asks only whether the notified sum was paid, not what the work is worth.
By Jack Butler-Kettle · Updated
Guidance for England and Wales. Check the contract, amendments and facts that apply to your job.
What it means in practice
Read this alongside section 111 of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 and S&T (UK) Ltd v Grove Developments Ltd [2018] EWCA Civ 2448.
This informal label usually describes an adjudication seeking payment through the notified-sum rules. It does not mean that the underlying work has been finally valued. Notice validity, dates and the payment cycle are central, and later valuation rights need to be considered separately.
Reconstruct the documents before choosing a route. Late payment recovery can help establish the payment record, with specialist advice on formal proceedings.
Worked example
The facts
A subcontractor believes its application became the notified sum because the expected notices were missing.
What happens
It checks whether the application was valid under the applicable payment mechanism.
It examines dates and service evidence before considering adjudication.
What this shows
A missing notice is investigated as part of the mechanism, not treated as an automatic entitlement to any figure submitted.
Sources
- Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996, s 111 (Requirement to pay notified sum). legislation.gov.uk.
- S&T (UK) Ltd v Grove Developments Ltd [2018] EWCA Civ 2448 (Court of Appeal, 7 November 2018). The National Archives, Find Case Law.