DUNCAN'S HOTEL (GLASGOW) Ltd v J. & A. FERGUSON Ltd
| Jurisdiction | Scotland |
| Judgment Date | 06 March 1974 |
| Docket Number | No. 19. |
| Date | 06 March 1974 |
| Court | Court of Session (Outer House) |
OUTER HOUSE.
Lord Stott.
Reparation—Independent contractor—Hazardous operation—Nuisance—Liability of employer for damage resulting from work done by contractor.
Reparation—Independent contractor—Illegal operation—Nuisance—Liability of employer for damage resulting from work done by contractor.
Reparation—Hazardous and illegal operation—Whether contractor liable for damage caused by fault of subcontractor.
In a building about 100 years old the ground floor and basement were occupied as a shop and the upper floors as a hotel. After a fire, which caused serious damage to the shop, its proprietors decided to reconstruct their premises on modern lines and instructed consulting engineers for this purpose. After investigation of the soil beneath the building the engineers decided that piled foundations should be adopted and instructed C. Co., specialist piling contractors, to sink one pile to bedrock outside the rear wall of the building. They intended, if this operation was successful, to negotiate with C. Co. a contract price for the remainder of the piling work, on the basis that C. Co. would become nominated subcontractors to F. & Co., who were to be the main contractors for the work of reconstruction. Further piles were sunk beneath the building, but the work caused extensive damage to the fabric of the hotel, owing to settlement of the building, with consequent cracking of walls and jamming of doors and windows, and ultimately it had to be discontinued. At no time had a warrant for the piling work been obtained from the Dean of Guild Court.
In an action of damages brought by the proprietors of the hotel against the proprietors of the shop,—
Held by Lord Stott (Ordinary) that the piling work constituted a nuisance which caused damage to the hotel, and that the defenders were liable to the pursuers for that damage (a) because the renewal of the foundations of the building constituted a hazardous operation and the defenders could not escape liability for any damage it caused by employing an independent contractor to do the work; and (b)because in the absence of a warrant the work was illegal.
Held further that, in the circumstances of the case, F. & Co. as main contractors were not liable for damage arising from the nuisance caused by C. Co. as subcontractors.
Relationship of a main contractor and a subcontractor quoadliability for damage discussed.
Duncan's Hotel (Glasgow)...
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