The £600m constructor Buckingham Group Contracting Ltd has had a sophisticated ding-dong about the liquidated and ascertained damages (LAD) stuff in its building contract with Peel L&P Investments & Property Ltd. I say “stuff” because I couldn’t make head or tail of how the umpteen thousands of pounds per week – or was it day, or minute? – worked in their JCT contract. I should say, rather, a JCT contract that had been tampered with.

I put it down twice – no, five times – because I found it unfathomable. That was exactly Buckingham’s argument; it said to the court: “There are several terms about LAD that concern how the contract should be read.” In other words, it was unfathomable – and void for uncertainty.

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