GS Woodland Court GP 1 Limited & Anor v RGCM Limited & Ors [2026] EWHC 351 (TCC)

The claimant applied to adjourn a trial listed to start in June 2026 to a date around a year later, with consequential directions. The application, opposed by the first defendant, arose because the Building Safety Regulator had rejected the claimant's proposed remedial scheme shortly before trial.

Mr Justice Constable held that an adjournment, to some extent, was the only fair way of proceeding. The claimant was not at fault for the position it found itself in, the consequences of the regulator's rejection of its remedial scheme could not sensibly be overcome by repleading or further evidence before trial, and the trial would be asymmetrical if it went ahead. He granted the adjournment.

The case shows the court managing the collision between building safety regulation and litigation timetables. Where an external regulatory decision undermines a party's case through no fault of its own on the eve of trial, an adjournment may be the only fair course.

Mr Justice Constable concluded that "an adjournment (to some extent) is the only fair way of proceeding".