True value adjudication: definition and example
An adjudication about what the work was actually worth, rather than what a notice said.
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 S&T (UK) Ltd v Grove Developments Ltd [2018] EWCA Civ 2448.
A true-value adjudication concerns the proper valuation of the work or account. It is distinct from a notified-sum claim about the immediate payment obligation. Payment sequencing, jurisdiction and what has already been decided need careful examination before referring a valuation dispute.
Organise quantities, rates and adjustments by item. Underpayment recovery can help assemble the valuation evidence; formal adjudication strategy may require specialist advice.
Worked example
The facts
The parties have different valuations for the same completed package.
What happens
They isolate disputed quantities, rates and changes in an itemised comparison.
Before any referral, they check the existing notices, payments and earlier decisions.
What this shows
The valuation case is prepared on its own evidence while preserving the distinction from immediate payment obligations.
Sources
- S&T (UK) Ltd v Grove Developments Ltd [2018] EWCA Civ 2448 (Court of Appeal, 7 November 2018). The National Archives, Find Case Law.