4.6.3.1. so as to be received not later than 4 days prior to the Interim Valuation Date for the relevant payment …"
Sub-Contract Particulars Item 10 provided that:
"The first Interim Valuation Date is 25 th June 2021 and thereafter the same date every fortnight [sic] for a period of two months, following which the date shall be the same in each month or the nearest business day in that month."
Clause 4.7.1. provided that:
"Subject to Clause 4.7.4 the final date for payment of any payment shall be 21 days after the due date as fixed in accordance with Clause 4.6.1 …"
The Specification provided:
"The site will be open for the Sub-Contractor to carry out the Sub-Contract Works from 7.30 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. Monday to Friday except on any dates stated in item 2.2. On Saturdays, the site will be open from 8.00 am to 1.00 pm"
Elements issued its Payment Application No. 16 by email on 21 October 2022, timed
at 22.07 hours. It was sent on behalf of Elements by Base Quantum, who had been
retained to prepare interim applications for payment, to a Mr Corns of FK and copied
to four other FK employees. The email attached a link to a 17-page PDF valuation
which stated that there was an amount due to Elements of £3,950,190.53. There was
no dispute that the email and its attached payment application was received into
the various recipients' email inboxes on the same date it was sent, between 22.07
and 22.08 hours.
In the adjudication, Elements adduced evidence of ‘usual’ and site-specific practice that the hours worked by quantity surveying and administrative staff were not confined to site or business hours but that they worked ‘ late hours ’ . On 21 October 2022, at least some of the individual recipients of the email serving application 16
saw that the email had landed and opened the email and its attachments, and all
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