Anyone familiar with the trail of errors that led to the awful events at Grenfell will be aware that suppliers of cladding products appeared to adopt what could be charitably termed a relaxed attitude to fire safety compliance. We are now seeing more claims through the courts flowing down liability to the supply chain – and will see even more against product suppliers as the effects of the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA) come to fruition. 

Recently, the Technology and Construction Court handed down judgment in Mulalley & Co Ltd vs Sto Ltd and Sto SE and Co KGaA – where Mulalley obtained the first building liability order by default judgment and an 87.5% contribution from the German parent company of the cladding product manufacturer and supplier. To be clear, Sto was not the cladding supplier at Grenfell, but the Grenfell tragedy has put a spotlight on a number of cladding manufacturers and suppliers which sold into the UK market.

The decision is a particularly useful guide for anyone involved in fire safety claims, as it addresses the court’s approach to claims against product suppliers under section 149 of the BSA and the apportionment of responsibility between contractors and product manufacturers.

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