Taylor Wimpey UK Limited v Taylor Woodrow Construction & Anor

Facts

Taylor Wimpey UK Limited (TWUK) is the claimant in these proceedings. The defendants are Taylor Woodrow Construction (Woodrow) and its parent, Vinci Construction Holding Limited. In or around 2005 Taylor Wimpey Developments Ltd (TWDL), TWUK's immediate parent, appointed Woodrow to design and build Victoria Wharf, a residential development in Cardiff of seven high-rise buildings. Fire safety defects emerged after the Grenfell Tower fire. In 2021 TWDL began arbitration against Woodrow under the building contracts, pleading contract, negligence and the Defective Premises Act 1972. In May 2022 the arbitrator held the contract and statutory claims time-barred, which was correct on the law as it then stood. Section 135 of the Building Safety Act 2022 then retrospectively extended the limitation period for old statutory claims to 30 years. In September 2022 the arbitrator held that TWDL could not rely on the extension because its claim had already been finally determined. The tort claim failed in March 2024, chiefly because Woodrow owed TWDL no concurrent duty of care. In October 2025 TWUK issued this claim, seeking relief against Woodrow under section 1(1)(b) of the Defective Premises Act 1972 as a person with an interest in the development. It also sought a building liability order under section 130 of the Building Safety Act 2022 against Vinci, and added a new claim about steelwork. Woodrow applied to strike the claim out as an abuse of process. The application concerned the statutory claim and a contribution claim under the Civil Liability (Contribution) Act 1978.