In a landmark legal reversal, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council has unanimously allowed an appeal by Trinidad and Tobago’s Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA), nullifying a multimillion-dollar award previously granted to contractor Uniform Building Contractors Ltd (UBC). The January 22 judgment reinstates the High Court’s original dismissal of UBC’s claims, marking a significant victory for the state utility.
The dispute originated from a 2007 design-build contract valued at $28 million for pipeline installation between Rio Claro and Mayaro. WASA terminated the agreement in 2009, prompting UBC to seek $13.9 million in compensation for alleged variations beyond the lump-sum contract. The contractor claimed additional costs for roadway pipe-laying, material disposal, backfill importation, and night work.
Delivering the ruling, Sir Peter Coulson declared the Court of Appeal’s 2023 decision “fundamentally flawed” in its legal reasoning. The Privy Council determined that all four contested work items were expressly or implicitly included within the original contract scope and pricing structure. Crucially, the judgment emphasized that contractual interpretation—not an engineer’s on-site opinion—governs variation determinations.
The Board further rejected appellate arguments regarding waiver and estoppel, noting these issues were never properly pleaded or evidenced during trial proceedings. Most damningly, UBC failed to comply with mandatory contractual procedures requiring variation claims to be submitted within 28 days—a condition precedent that barred any entitlement to additional payment.
The ruling clarified that contract termination operates prospectively, unable to resurrect time-barred claims. “The eventual termination could not, in law, resurrect claims that had not been made in time,” the judgment stated, underscoring that contractual rights and obligations accrued before termination remain unaffected.
Legal representation featured Anand Ramlogan, SC, Kate Temple-Mabe, and Ganesh Saroop for WASA, while Irshaad Ali and Adam Razack represented UBC. The decision reinforces strict adherence to contractual notice provisions and affirms that fairness arguments cannot override clear procedural requirements.