Slippery surfaces and a slippery slope. This is the tale of Swansea council’s Liberty Stadium and a £1.3m construction defects dispute. Standing beside the River Tawe in Landore, the 21,088-seat arena opened in 2005 and has played host to concerts as well as top-flight football and rugby matches.

In addition to hazardous concourse and mezzanine floors, paint delamination had allegedly resulted in corroding steel structures. The faults fell on Swansea Stadium Management Company Ltd (SSMC), the Swansea City AFC controlled entity that leases and operates the venue and which is liable under a tenant’s repairing covenant. In turn, it is suing both the landlord and the design and build contractor, Interserve Construction Ltd. The trial is set for late October.

SSMC’s claims against the second defendant derived from a collateral warranty provided by Interserve. Firstly, it asserted that the design and construction of the concourse flooring were defective, as were the supply, construction and painting of the steelwork. Secondly, Interserve had failed to recognise and rectify those defects, contrary to clause 16 of its building contract with the council, which was based on the JCT Standard Building Contract with Contractor’s Design 1998 supplemented by amendments.

It has long been accepted under English law that agreements can be drafted to have retrospective effect – that is, they operate from a date earlier than their execution or completion

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