High Court rejects solar park bonus claim

27/02/25

On 26 February 2025, Mr Justice Constable dismissed a claim for a bonus of £2.445 million in relation to the development of the Cleve Hill Solar Park in Kent, a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project which was granted development consent by the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in May 2020.  

The Claimant advanced a contractual claim for a bonus payment based upon terms alleged to have been agreed by email six years prior to the grant of development consent.  In the alternative, the Claimant sought payment of a reasonable bonus or restitution on the basis of unjust enrichment.  The Claimant also advanced smaller claims for damages for unlawful termination and statutory interest.

The Court rejected all of the claims advanced.  The Court emphasised the difficulty with implying a term for payment of a “reasonable bonus” where “there was no particular arrangement which the parties would clearly have agreed” ([113]).  The Court also reiterated that no claim is available in unjust enrichment where services fall within the scope of a subsisting contract, applying the Supreme Court’s decision in Barton v Morris [2023] AC 684 ([121] to [123]).

The judgment is here.