By the time this dispute got to His Honour Judge Stephen Davies, it was too late to do judging the way he likes. It was a house extension, originally priced at £156,370. The client was Dr Mohamed Mirza. The builder was The Sky’s the Limit Transformations Ltd. There was, eventually, an acrimonious falling‑out. The builder complained about payment, walked off, then quit altogether. The lawyers trotted onto the pitch. The builder claimed for work done, variations, loss and expense. The customer claimed for another builder to complete the works, the extra costs, and the defective works. Don’t suggest I am being flippant when I say it was all the usual stuff. It was.

Four years later it came to the Technology and Construction Court at the Manchester City Justice Centre. There was a five-day trial. The procedure was “traditional litigation”. Solicitors and barristers for both sides, expert evidence from a building surveyor (one each), a mechanical engineer (one each), an electrical engineer (one each), and a quantity surveyor (one each). There were 184 issues. One such, touching up new plaster, saw the QSs agree the item at £10.

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