Construction Adjudication Across Jurisdictions: The Irish Position on “Smash and Grab” Claims
Members of 4-5 Gray's inn Square's Construction Group regularly act as counsel and adjudicators across a range of common law jurisdictions with statutory construction payment regimes. While these regimes share common features, clients should be aware that the legislation and the approach taken by the courts is not uniform across jurisdictions.
The concept of the “smash and grab” adjudication is now well established in England & Wales. These adjudications typically arise where a paying party fails to issue a valid payment notice or pay less notice in response to an interim payment application, resulting in the payee obtaining an adjudicator’s decision for the full amount claimed.
However, the recent Irish High Court decision in Tenderbids Ltd t/a Bastion v Electrical Waste Management Ltd [2026] IEHC demonstrates a different approach under Ireland’s Construction Contracts Act 2013.
In that case, the assigned adjudication judge in Dublin indicated that “smash and grab” adjudications are not a feature of the Irish adjudication regime. The Court overturned the adjudicator’s decision, notwithstanding the employer’s failure to issue a payment claim response within the statutory 21-day period, and rejected the contractor’s claim for payment in full.
The decision is a timely reminder that, despite similarities between statutory adjudication regimes, important jurisdictional differences remain.
Members of 4-5’s Construction Group advise on construction and infrastructure disputes in England & Wales and across numerous other common law jurisdictions.
