Read the full judgment text of CACV 123/2003 on BabelCite. This 高等法院上訴法庭 judgment was delivered on 17 December 2003 before Hon Rogers VP, Le Pichon JA, Yuen JA.
Contract Law — Subcontract payment obligations — Clause 11(b) of standard subcontract — Arbitration — Jurisdiction of arbitrator — Retention money construction. The dispute concerned whether payments certified by the employer to the main contractor had been properly accounted for and paid to the subcontractor under clause 11(b). The arbitrator found that payment had been made prior to Interim Payment Certificate No. 29 and that the subcontractor was obliged to pay the retention money as stipulated. The main contractor appealed refusal of leave to appeal the arbitration award. The Court of Appeal upheld the arbitrator's findings on jurisdiction to decide the payment receipt issue, found the set-off arguments irrelevant due to the factual findings, and endorsed the arbitrator’s interpretation of retention money provisions. The appeal was dismissed with reasons provided, affirming the correctness of the lower court's refusal to grant leave for appeal against the arbitral award.
Legal issues: Jurisdiction of arbitrator regarding payment receipt determination · Applicability of clause 11(b) to set-off arrangements · Construction of retention money clause in the subcontract
Outcome: Appeal dismissed; leave to appeal arbitral award refused