Can a contractor recover the cost of adverse weather encountered because earlier employer delay shifted the work?
Potentially. The contractor must prove that the employer-risk delay moved the affected work into the adverse-weather period and that the later time and cost were a recoverable consequence under the contract and ordinary damages principles.
Recovery may follow where the employer delay materially caused exposure to the later weather and the causal chain remains intact
Compare the planned no-delay sequence with the actual sequence. Show that the work would probably have avoided the adverse conditions but for the employer event, that the weather then caused the claimed productivity or delay effect, and that this type of consequence was within the recoverable range. Remove normal seasonal allowance, contractor delay, defective planning and other intervening causes. A time-only weather clause does not automatically exclude damages caused by a separate earlier employer's breach, but the contract may allocate the risk expressly.
| Issue | Position |
|---|---|
| Earlier employer-risk event | Must be proved and causally effective |
| Shift into weather period | Demonstrate through programme and weather evidence |
| Weather effect | Prove activity-specific time and productivity loss |
| Intervening cause | May reduce or break the causal chain |
| Contract risk allocation | May preserve, limit or exclude financial recovery |
The rest of this solution is for members
Fifty of the two hundred contractual solutions are free to read. This is one of the remaining hundred and fifty, which Premium and Pro carry.
See what Premium includesAlready a member? Sign in