A principal who takes work out of a contractor's hands under cl 44.4 of AS 2124-1992 and obtains a cl 44.6 certificate cannot separately claim common law damages for expenses that properly form part of the costs to complete the works, as this would constitute a collateral attack on the finality of the certificate. The finality of the certificate binds both parties — the contractor cannot challenge it for error, but equally the principal cannot circumvent it by recharacterising costs to complete as separate heads of damage. A superintendent's cl 44.6 certificate involving professional cost allocation and discretionary judgment is final and binding, not being a mere mechanical exercise.
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