HT-2020-000448 - [2024] EWHC 1185 (TCC)

This is not a period for which there is any claim for Delay Damages (irrespective of issues such as notice or relief).

The first part is the period up to August 2017, during which period TCS contends that it suffered knock on effects of the delays to R1 B&B. This is not relevant to the issue of relief, as set out above, but it is relevant to TCS’s claim for financial compensation.

In terms of critical path, Mr Jardine’s evidence is that from June 2017 to June 2018, the critical path ran through the work required to start Final SIT 1. This included RFC 489, RFC 417 and 2 Code Drop Works. Mr Britton’s first report contended that the critical path during this period ran through external dependencies. Both experts’ analyses were relatively high level given the nature of the material available for R1-D. For most of the project through to Go-Live of R1-B&B, the planning focus was generally on R1-B&B, as confirmed by Mr Martin of TCS in cross examination. I also take account of Mr Britton’s evidence that the R1 Disclosure plans should be treated with caution and that a reliable delay analysis was difficult to undertake. Moreover, the systemic issues with carrying out a prospective analysis considered in the context of R1-B&B apply equally to this part of case.

I accept Mr Jardine’s view within his Window 3, which was supported by the evidence of Dr Hunt, that the critical path was effectively through the progress of the R1-B&B testing which would allow the release of the SIT Large environment.

R1-D exited SIT on 10 June 2017. There were no Sev1 (i.e. highest level of severity) defects, but there were 5 Sev2 defects. Notwithstanding these, as Dr Hunt agreed in evidence, and I find, that the SIT Large environment (the R1 test environment and stage of testing used for Component Integration testing for Interfaces, System Integration testing with Live interfaces to third parties, and Data Migration Testing, sometimes referred to as SIT-L) was being used until August 2017 for R1-B&B, and for this reason was unavailable for R1-D until then.

For the reasons set out above, TCS has not established an entitlement to either relief from Delay Damages (insofar as relevant) or from a damages claim, or its own right to claim losses, for the delays caused to R1-B&B. To the extent that the driving cause of delay at this time was these preceding delays, as TCS themselves allege, this is a period for which TCS has similarly failed to establish the relevant entitlements.