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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> Scottish Court of Session Decisions >> K2 Restaurants Ltd v Glasgow City Council & Ors [2007] ScotCS CSOH_20 (02 February 2007) URL: http://www.bailii.org/scot/cases/ScotCS/2007/CSOH_20.html Cite as: [2007] ScotCS CSOH_20, [2007] CSOH 20 |
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OUTER HOUSE, COURT OF SESSION [2007] CSOH 20 |
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A5093/01 |
OPINION OF LORD WHEATLEY in the cause K2 RESTAURANTS LIMITED Pursuers; against Defenders: ________________ |
Pursuers: McGregor;
First Defenders: Dunlop;
Balfour & Manson, W.S. (For Hennessy Bowie & Co, Glasgow)
[2] The
circumstances leading to the pursuers' claim were as follows. In August 1994 the pursuers were the
owners of restaurant premises at
[3] In
June 1996 the first defenders contracted with the second defenders to
carry out the demolition work at
[4] In essence the pursuers divide their case of negligence against the first defenders into two parts. First of all they aver that the first defenders had duties of reasonable care to ensure that the demolition works were executed and completed in a reasonable and safe manner, and to leave the remaining gable wall in a safe state, having regard to the protection of property adjacent, including that belonging to the pursuers. They were also under a duty of reasonable care to inspect the condition of the buildings adjacent to the building which had been demolished.
[5] The second set of duties averred by the pursuers against the first defenders relate to the period after the demolition had been complete. The pursuers aver that the first defenders knew or ought to have known that the former mutual gable wall was exposed and unstable. They knew or ought to have known that there was a material risk of the gable wall or part of it collapsing or otherwise becoming detached from the main wall. Accordingly, the pursuers aver that the first defenders were under a duty of reasonable care to instruct that immediate steps be taken to protect the structural integrity of the exposed gable wall, either by tying back the brickwork of the exposed gable wall to the joists in the roof void of the adjoining property and erecting weather protection, or by removing the brickwork of the wall from the roof level to the third floor ceiling level and either rebuilding it or covering it to protect it from the weather, or alternatively to erect retaining scaffolding with a fan guard. The first defenders undertook none of these works. As indicated earlier, the case against the second defenders has been departed from.
[6] In these circumstances Mr Dunlop, counsel for the first defenders, argued for his first plea-in-law to the relevancy of the pursuers' averments. He submitted that the pursuers' complaints concerned the way in which the works were carried out, but these works were carried out by the second defenders and the first defenders only instructed the second defenders to do the work. He submitted that it was settled law that instructing employers in these circumstances are not liable for incompetent building works by independent companies. It is not suggested in the present case that the second defenders were not competent. If the first defenders had engaged competent independent contractors, they were entitled to rely on them (Ferguson v Welsh 1987 1 WLR 1553 per Lord Keith of Kinkel at p.1560G-H). In the present case there were no special circumstances averred why the council should be liable for the acts of the second defenders. Counsel also submitted that it should be noted that the first defenders only instructed the second defenders because of the failure of the proprietors (including the pursuers) to comply with the section 13 notice which they had served. Had the proprietors complied with the section 13 notice, the first defenders would not have instructed the second defenders to do the work. The pursuers had now abandoned their case against the second defenders and could not give themselves a better case against the council than they might have had against the demolition contractors.
[8] At
this point it was clear from an intervention on the part of counsel for the
pursuers that it was not part of his case, either expressly or implicitly, that
there was a duty on the first defenders to serve a further section 13
notice. In these circumstances, counsel
for the first defenders maintained that any duty that is incumbent on the first
defenders can only therefore arise out of the existing section 13
notice. His response to that was, as
already indicated, that that work was done by the second defenders and the
first defenders were not responsible for it.
Were the pursuers to rely on duties persisting after the demolition work
had been completed, these could not have been carried out without a fresh
notice being served, before the first defenders had any power to do
anything. Further, the first defenders
are said to have certified the demolition work as complete. It is not said that they were negligent so to
certify that work. Nothing further could
thereafter be done in terms of the original section 13 notice because it
was complete and spent. That a fresh
section 13 notice would be required is beyond doubt, because of the duty
which the pursuers aver concerning the need to tie in the existing brickwork
with the adjoining property at number
[9] Counsel
for the first defenders also argued for his second preliminary plea, which is
based on prescription. There were
three relevant dates for the purpose of this argument. The first was the completion of the
demolition works for which a precise date was not available. However it was clear from an examination of
the pleadings that the work started in July 1996 and was expected to take
about ten weeks. This would suggest
that the work would be completed in about September 1996. This is confirmed by the averments on
condescendence 4 which suggest that following completion of the works, the
proprietor of adjoining premises wrote to the first defenders on
[10] In response, Mr McGregor, counsel for the pursuers,
indicated that having listened to Mr Dunlop's submissions, he would be
asking leave to amend part of his pleadings.
Three issues had been raised by the first defenders, namely the
relationship between the first defenders and the second defenders, the question
of a second section 13 notice in respect of works that might be done
involving
[11] Dealing briefly with the first two points raised by the defenders, Mr McGregor noted that the first defenders has submitted that they had no responsibility for the work done by the second defenders and there were no averments of special circumstances which would make the first defenders so responsible. Mr McGregor accepted the force of this submission and sought leave to amend on that matter. He argued that the note of arguments which had been lodged in this case makes no reference to this point and that it had not been raised previously.
[12] In respect of the second issue which concerns the possibility of a fresh section 13 notice being served, Mr McGregor made it clear that he did not seek to rely for his remedy on a claim that fresh section 13 notices should have been issued, or that the discretionary power available to the first defenders could form the basis of a common law duty of care against those defenders. The pursuers' case was that having issued the first section 13 notice, the first defenders then came under a duty of reasonable care to see that the demolition was executed in a safe manner. This, he maintained, was clear from the averments on condescendence 5 where it is said that the first defenders were under a duty of reasonable care to ensure that the demolition works were executed and completed in a reasonable and safe manner, and further that, as part of the existing demolition works, the first defenders were under a duty of reasonable care to instruct that immediate steps be taken to protect the structure and integrity of the exposed gable wall. Against that background, the first defenders' counsel had argued that the pursuers could not claim that the first defenders should have tied the brickwork of the exposed gable wall back to the joists in the roof void of the adjoining property at 241 North Street; that would involve the service of a fresh section 13 notice because the work to be done in that circumstance on the adjoining property would not be covered by the existing notice. Mr McGregor indicated that he accepted this argument would therefore intend to delete that averment and also the corresponding averment in condescendence 5.
[13] However, Mr McGregor maintained that was not the end of the pursuers' case. The question of tying in the brickwork to the roof void of an adjoining building was only one of three remedies available. The other two remaining remedies involved the removal of the brickwork from the roof level to the third floor ceiling level, or alternatively the erection of retaining scaffolding with a fan guard. Both of these remedial works, in his submission, would have been covered by the existing section 13 notice.
[14] In response Mr Dunlop argued on the question of prescription that the gable wall was mutual. In these circumstances the pursuers would have proprietorial rights in the wall. The title deeds provided that all proprietors had a mutual interest in the gable wall, and that meant that there was a common right to the whole wall for each of the proprietors. This was in accordance with normal practice and the general principles of tenement law. In these circumstances, the pursuer had suffered loss at the completion of the demolition works; they could therefore have at that time instructed remedial works; and accordingly the period of quinquennial prescription would run from the date when the demolition works were completed.
[15] In respect of the amendments proposed by Mr McGregor, Mr Dunlop accepted that the question of the relationship between the first and second defenders, and his submission that special circumstances had to be averred to make the first defenders liable for the second defenders' actions, were not mentioned in the note of arguments. However, that note of arguments had been lodged in 2003 and the court had not asked for an updated note. Since then there had been two procedural debates which had proved abortive because on each occasion the pursuers had offered to amend. He had mentioned that this argument might arise informally to counsel for the pursuers some 48 hours ago before the present debate took place. If the pursuers now accepted that the first remedial measures which they described were accepted to be irrelevant, he would further argue that the other two methods of remedying the situation averred by the pursuers were also irrelevant. The section 13 notice only allowed for the first defenders to demolish the building and did not permit the rebuilding of brickwork or for the extension of scaffolding. Section 13(5) of the Act provides for recovery of expenses, and proprietors subject to this process would challenge the recovery of any expenses not authorised by the original notice. In these circumstances all of the remedies suggested by the pursuers were irrelevant. This was disputed by Mr McGregor.
[16] In respect of the prescription argument, I am quite satisfied that the answer relies simply on the averments concerning the question of ownership of the mutual gable wall. I had no difficulty in accepting Mr Dunlop's legal submissions on prescription. Mr McGregor's only point in response to the first defenders' submission that the right of action had prescribed was that he had no rights of property in that wall. Accordingly, after the demolition of the first, second and third levels, which left the gable wall at those levels in a dangerous condition, he had no right of action against the first defenders. If he is right on that, and the pursuers have no property rights whatsoever in the mutual gable wall at levels 1, 2 and 3, but are restricted in their proprietorial interest to the mutual gable wall at their own level, then Mr McGregor's argument has force, and the action may not have prescribed. However, by corollary, it would follow that if the title deeds demonstrate that the pursuers did have a proprietorial interest in all of the mutual gable wall including that part of the wall adjacent to levels 1, 2 and 3 of the buildings now demolished, then it would seem to follow inevitably that their right of action would accrue when the damage was done to the gable wall and that accordingly the prescriptive period began to run at the date of the completion of the demolition work. In that circumstance, the present action has prescribed. This issue can easily be resolved by an examination of the relevant title deeds.
[17] As far as the question of amendment is concerned, there is clearly no difficulty in the proposal made by Mr McGregor that he wished to delete the averments about tying in the remaining brickwork on the mutual gable wall to adjoining roof voids. I would be prepared to allow that amendment. I do not think that removing these averments compromises the remaining remedies averred by the pursuers. They would remain liable to proof. There is more difficulty in my view in allowing amendment of the pleadings to develop the case against the first defenders, in effect by averring that they had responsibilities over the second defenders in the way in which the demolition works were carried out. However, I have decided that it would be appropriate to allow such amendment; it is the clear burden of the pursuers' second tranche of duties that they hold the first defenders liable for the way in which the demolition work was carried out. However, that does not dispose of the first defenders' submissions that such a case is irrelevant. No argument was put forward against that matter; the only response was a request to amend. In these circumstances, I have reluctantly decided that the pursuers should be allowed to amend on this topic and the question of whether or not there is a relevant case can be thereafter debated again, although I accept that this is unsatisfactory. I am swayed by the fact that this submission was not part of the note of arguments lodged in the case, even though the Court did not ask for an updated note. However, this issue will only become live if the pursuers can show, in terms of the relevant title deeds, that they had no proprietorial interest in the gable walls in the upper floors.