Errors of Law and Fact

Abstract

The starting point for any discussion of this topic is not a case concerned with adjudication at all. In Nikko Hotels (UK) Ltd v MEPC plc, a rent review case, the lease contained a formula for increasing the rent, which necessitated the determination of the average hotel room rate. The independent expert, whose determination of the issue was provided for by the terms of the lease, construed that expression as meaning the average of the published prices at which rooms were said to be available, rather than the average room rate actually achieved. This interpretation of the lease naturally meant that the rate was higher than it would otherwise have been, and the tenants issued an originating summons, alleging that the decision was a nullity because it was based on a misconstruction of the rent review clause.