PJW Enterprises Limited had employed a contractor to carry out extension and refurbishment works to premises in Glasgow. PJW also employed a firm of surveyors, Gillies Ramsay Diamond, to act as contract administrator. The letter of employment did not contain an adjudication clause. During the course of the works a dispute arose between PJW and Diamond resulting in the termination of Diamond's appointment. PJW employed others to act as contract administrator and then brought a claim for professional negligence against Diamond and referred that claim to adjudication.

Diamond sought judicial review, claiming (1) that the contract between the employer and the contract administrator was not a "construction contract", (2) the scheme did not give the adjudicator power to award damages, (3) the adjudicator failed to take account of submissions made, and (4) the reasons given by the adjudicator in his decision did not support his decision.

Lady Paton held:

1) That the agreement between the parties was a construction contract within the Act, and therefore the dispute could be referred to adjudication;

2) In Scotland an arbiter does not have power to award damages unless given that power by the parties. However, the new legislative procedure provided by the Act, and in particular in section 20(2) of the Scheme provided that the adjudicator could award damages as part of deciding the matters in dispute between the parties. The employer had clearly suffered a loss by incurring overdraft costs and additional legal fees, and those losses should be assessed at the time of incurring those costs;

3) Diamond complained that the adjudicator failed to take into account certain submissions. The adjudicator's decision referred to those submissions, so appeared to have taken them into account; and

4) Reasons underlying the decision did not appear to disclose the basis for the finding of professional negligence against Diamond. However, as a decision was intra-vires it was still enforceable (Bouygues (UK) Limited v Dahl Jensen (UK) Limited).