ABSTRACT
An architect has the right to keep drawings prepared for a client until the client has paid the architect's fees owing. In general terms, if an employer owes fees to an architect, the architect is entitled to retain possession of goods and documents which belong to the employer until the fees are paid. The signed contract documents undoubtedly belong to the employer, but an architect owed fees by the employer could retain the contract documents until paid. If the employer urgently needs the documents but is not prepared to pay the architect fees for some reason, the Civil Procedure Rules allow the claimant to retrieve the documents on payment into court of the amount claimed by the architect, that sum to await the determination of the architect's claim. The court held that Clancy was entitled to be paid the amount certified.
