7BR’s Kate Temple-Mabe appeared for the successful Appellant in the Privy Council in WASA v Uniform Building Contractors Ltd [2026] UKPC 2, led by Anand Ramlogan SC.
The appeal from Trinidad & Tobago concerned whether strict compliance with conditions precedent to payment in a FIDIC Yellow Book contract is essential for a contractor to recover payment for variations. The dispute arose from a pipeline project, with the contractor claiming approximately TT$13.9 million for variation works informally agreed on site between the Contractor and the Engineer.
The Privy Council restored the High Court’s dismissal of the claim, holding that none of the works in question were truly variations attracting additional payment, and that Clause 20.1 operates as a condition precedent and the contractor’s failure to give timely notice and pursue claims during the life of the contract was fatal to its case. The Board also clarified that the site engineer did not have authority to waive the strict contractual provisions for agreeing variations. The informal approvals and flexible procedures adopted on site therefore did not bind the Appellant.
Kate was instructed by Ganesh Saroop, Freedom Law Chambers (San Fernando, Trinidad)
The full judgment is available here.
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