Category: contracts

Cavendish win on penalties: Supreme Court makes finger-tip save of ageing doctrine – RPC Built Environment

Posted January 13th, 2016 in contracts, damages, news, parking, penalties by sally

‘The Supreme Court has provided long awaited clarification of the law on penalty clauses and liquidated damages, upholding the “penalty rule” but further limiting its utility in a commercial setting. In the adjoined appeals of Cavendish Square Holding v Talal El Makdessi and ParkingEye Limited v Beavis the Supreme Court created a new authority for consideration of the penalty rule doctrine, termed by Lordships Neuberger and Sumption to be “an ancient, haphazardly constructed edifice which has not weathered well”.’

Full story

RPC Built Environment, 6th January 2016

Source: www.rpc.co.uk

No relief from the Supreme Court – Radcliffe Chambers

Posted January 13th, 2016 in civil procedure rules, contracts, disclosure, freezing injunctions, news, sanctions, Supreme Court by sally

‘The Supreme Court has held in Thevarajah v Riordan [2015] UKSC 78 that:
(1) a party who failed to obtain relief from sanctions for non compliance with an order
cannot make a second application for relief without demonstrating a material change
in circumstances; and
(2) belated compliance with an order does not, of itself, constitute a material change
in circumstances.’

Full story

Radcliffe Chambers, 7th January 2016

Source: www.radcliffechambers.com

Appeal court: profits from sale of ship should be treated as mitigation of loss from breach of contract – OUT-LAW.com

Posted January 8th, 2016 in causation, charterparties, contracts, economic loss, news, shipping law by sally

‘A High Court judge “overcomplicated matters” by attempting to develop a set of principles governing whether the innocent party to a breach of contract should have its award of damages reduced to reflect a benefit it obtained from that breach of contract, an expert has said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 8th January 2016

Source: www.out-law.com

Organisations should learn lessons on outsourcing from BT Cornwall case, says expert – OUT-LAW.com

Posted January 7th, 2016 in contracting out, contracts, drafting, injunctions, local government, news, telecommunications by sally

‘Both customers and suppliers can learn lessons on outsourcing from a recent dispute ruled on by the High Court in London.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 7th January 2016

Source: www.out-law.com

Supreme Court: no “material change” means no second application for relief from sanctions – Litigation Futures

Posted December 18th, 2015 in civil procedure rules, contracts, disclosure, freezing injunctions, news, sanctions, Supreme Court by sally

‘Litigants are not entitled to make a second application for relief from sanctions unless there has been a “material change in circumstances”, the Supreme Court has ruled.’

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Litigation Futures, 17th December 2015

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Ramburs Inc v Agrifert SA – WLR Daily

Posted December 9th, 2015 in appeals, arbitration, contracts, interpretation, law reports, sale of goods by sally

Ramburs Inc v Agrifert SA [2015] EWHC 3548 (Comm); [2015] WLR (D) 505

‘Where a buyer of goods FOB nominated a substitute vessel pursuant to its right under the GAFTA FOB period of delivery clause appearing in GAFTA form 49, he was nevertheless required to comply with the terms of the contract of sale as to nomination and pre-advice in respect of the nomination of the substitute vessel.’

WLR Daily, 4th December 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Good Faith Clauses in Development Agreements – Tanfield Chambers

Posted December 9th, 2015 in contracts, interpretation, news, sale of land, standards, statutory duty by sally

‘In recent years it has become increasingly common for parties to a development agreement to agree to act towards one another with “good faith”. The meaning and extent of the obligations on the contracting parties imposed by such clauses is often difficult to ascertain. The purpose of this paper is to consider a number of cases in which good faith clauses, implied and express, are discussed and identify the general principles that apply to development agreements.’

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Tanfield Chambers, 30th November 2015

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

Penalty Clauses – New Square Chambers

Posted December 9th, 2015 in contracts, news, penalties by sally

‘On 4 November 2015 the Supreme Court handed down a judgment in relation to penalty clauses in a contract – Cavendish Square Holding BV v Makdessi [2015] UKSC 67, a judgment of 124 pages before a panel of seven Justices. This was the first time that this Court or the House of Lords had considered such an issue for a century. Some commentators describe this judgment as, in effect, a complete re-writing of the relevant law. Others may call it merely a change, albeit an important change, of emphasis.’

Full story

New Square Chambers, 1st December 2015

Source: www.newsquarechambers.co.uk

Wellesley v Withers: A significant change in the analysis of remoteness of damage – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted December 9th, 2015 in causation, contracts, drafting, limited liability partnerships, negligence, news by sally

‘In Wellesley Partners LLP v Withers LLP [2015] EWCA Civ 1146 the Court of Appeal made an important change to the law of causation. From now onwards, the contractual approach causation shall apply instead of the tortious principles of remoteness in cases of concurrent liability. The effect of this case will be to materially change causation analyses in professional negligence matters, albeit the conclusion (as demonstrated in the Wellesley case itself) through the two analytical frameworks may well be identical.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 2nd December 2015

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

When does the clock start ticking? Limitation and the Privy Council case of Maharaj v Johnson – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted December 9th, 2015 in contracts, limitations, negligence, news, Privy Council by sally

‘The majority of claims against professionals are framed in contract, the tort of negligence, or a combination of both. As readers of this article will be aware, the Limitation Act 1980 provides the same limitation period for both causes of action: “six years from the date on which the case of action arose.” But readers will also know that those periods frequently begin (and more importantly end) on different dates. This is because a breach of contract is actionable per se, i.e. without the need to prove damage, where as a claim in negligence requires proof of damage, which will often occur some time after the breach of duty, which is said to have caused it. For this reason many claims which are out of time for a claim in contract, are nevertheless in time for a claim in the tort of negligence.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 2nd December 2015

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

A return to orthodoxy in matters of contractual interpretation – New Square Chambers

Posted December 9th, 2015 in contracts, drafting, interpretation, news by sally

‘In its decision in Arnold v Britton [2015] 2 WLR 1593 the Supreme Court has restored the supremacy of the traditional approach to the construction of commercial contracts.’

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New Square Chambers, 1st December 2015

Source: www.newsquarechambers.co.uk

Dudley Muslim Association v Dudley MBC – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted December 9th, 2015 in appeals, contracts, enforcement, estoppel, local government, news, planning, sale of land by sally

‘Amanda Eilledge explores the availability of public law defences and promissory estoppel in the context of a contract for the sale of land following the decision in Dudley Muslim Association v Dudley MBC [2015] EWCA Civ 1123.’

Full story

Hardwicke Chambers, 9th December 2015

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Court of Appeal: employer may challenge the amount due under a builder’s final account despite his failure to serve a pay less notice – OUT-LAW.com

Posted December 4th, 2015 in appeals, construction industry, contracts, dispute resolution, news by sally

‘Failure to serve a payment or pay less notice does not prevent an employer from disputing his building contractor’s final account in adjudication proceedings, even where the contractor has already obtained an adjudicator’s decision in his favour, the Court of Appeal has ruled.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 3rd December 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

Judicial review pushes back crime contracts to April – Legal Voice

Posted November 19th, 2015 in contracts, criminal justice, judicial review, law firms, Ministry of Justice, news, solicitors by sally

‘The Ministry of Justice announced on Friday that the introduction of duty provider contracts will be pushed back from January to April 1 next year. Only the previous week, the MOJ continued to insist that despite the threat of legal challenges, the new duty provider contracts would come into force from 01 January 2016.’

Full story

Legal Voice, 16th November 2015

Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk

Commercial agency: where the principal cannot have his cake and eat it too – Technology Law Update

Posted November 19th, 2015 in agency, commercial agents, compensation, contracts, indemnities, news by sally

‘On termination of a commercial agency agreement the agent is normally entitled to either an indemnity or compensation. This is a lump sum payment to reward the agent for the goodwill it has developed for the principal. They can agree by contract which option they prefer. But in the absence of agreement, the agent is entitled to compensation.’

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Technology Law Update, 16th November 2015

Source: www.technology-law-blog.co.uk

Court of Appeal gives explicit backing for “valuable” unbundling – Legal Futures

Posted November 18th, 2015 in appeals, budgets, contracts, legal aid, legal services, litigants in person, negligence, news, professional conduct, solicitors by sally

‘Solicitors who offer “unbundled” legal advice to help litigants deal with challenging parts of the process provide an “invaluable” service to both the court and litigants, the Court of Appeal said yesterday.’

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Legal Futures, 18th November 2015

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Two-tier contracts delayed – Bar Council response – The Bar Council

Posted November 17th, 2015 in barristers, contracts, delay, press releases by sally

‘Chairman of the Bar Alistair MacDonald QC said:”The Bar Council has always opposed the two-tier scheme and has consistently asked the Ministry of Justice and the Legal Aid Agency to re-consider these plans. We therefore welcome today’s decision to postpone the implementation of the scheme in the light of the legal challenges which have been brought.”‘

Full press release

The Bar Council. 13th November 2015

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

The chips are down for Barry Beavis – but what does it mean for the penalty rule? – Technology Law Update

Posted November 9th, 2015 in appeals, consumer protection, contracts, fees, news, parking, penalties, Supreme Court by sally

‘This week the UK Supreme Court gave a single decision on a pair of wildly different cases. They involved a chip shop owner overstaying in a retail car park and the heavily negotiated sale of a substantial Middle Eastern advertising group. (Cavendish Square v El Makdessi and ParkingEye v Beavis) Why? Because they both concerned the idea of a penalty clause – very roughly, a clause that is unenforceable because it imposes an exorbitant obligation to pay on a party that breaches a contract.’

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Technology Law Update, 6th November 2015

Source: www.technology-law-blog.co.uk

UK courts to define ‘grossly unfair’ payment terms, says government – OUT-LAW.com

Posted October 28th, 2015 in consultations, contracts, EC law, news, small businesses by sally

‘Difficult questions around whether supply chain payment terms and practices are “grossly unfair” should ultimately be settled by the courts or the new Small Business Commissioner, the UK government has said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 27th October 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

Insurance Act 2015: changes to conditions precedent – OUT-LAW.com

Posted October 23rd, 2015 in contracts, insurance, news by sally

‘From next year, insurers will not be able refuse policyholder claims on the grounds that they breached an irrelevant term in their policy.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 22nd October 2015

Source: www.out-law.com