Entitlement to bring a fresh adjudication

In Lidl Great Britain Ltd v Closed Circuit Cooling Ltd (t/a 3CL) [2023] EWHC 3051 (TCC) His Honour Judge Stephen Davies, sitting as a Judge of the High Court, considered the entitlement of a party to bring a fresh adjudication before it has made payment in respect of a prior adjudication between the same parties. There is no complete prohibition on commencing a fresh adjudication in such circumstances. But, if the matter is one that relates to the notified sum in the prior adjudication or to a matter that could have been the subject of a payless notice served in respect of that notified sum, then the payer will not be entitled to bring a fresh adjudication in respect of these matters without first making payment and an adjudicator who decides to proceed with the adjudication when payment has not been made is likely to find that his or her decision is unenforceable.