The prevention principle in building contracts is not abrogated by an extension of time clause unless the clause expressly or by necessary inference provides for extensions on account of the owner's fault or breach. A builder's failure to seek a formal extension of time under the contract cannot be determinative of whether the builder failed to proceed with due diligence for the purposes of a termination clause. Where an arbitrator finds an implied term that was not pleaded (technical misconduct), the court retains discretion not to set aside the award where the implied term was in substance a generic term whose existence depended on analysis of the written contract terms, and no different evidence could have been adduced had the term been pleaded.
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