Category: contracts

Judgment in Good Law Project JR on publication of Covid-19 procurement notices – Monckton Chambers

Posted February 25th, 2021 in contracts, coronavirus, judicial review, locus standi, news, public interest, public procurement by sally

‘This is the first in a series of procurement law judicial review (JR) cases relating to Covid-19 brought by the Good Law Project (GLP) to have reached the judgment stage. The case concerned the (non)publication of contract award notices (CANs) within 30 days under regulation 50 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR) and of other contract notices and materials within 20 or 90 days under relevant transparency policies.’

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Monckton Chambers, 19th February 2021

Source: www.monckton.com

Contract interpretation – who has commercial common sense? – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted February 23rd, 2021 in construction industry, contracts, interpretation, news by sally

‘The dust is slowly settling over the arguments about how contracts should be interpreted. We know that “this is not a literalist exercise focused solely on a parsing of the wording of the particular clause” and that “[t]extualism and contextualism are not conflicting paradigms in a battle for exclusive occupation of the field of contractual interpretation” (as stated by Lord Hodge in Wood v Capita Insurance Services Ltd). That means the factual background (matrix of fact) and commercial common sense still have a role to play where the plain meaning of the words is not clear (which is usually the reason why there is a dispute in the first place).’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 23rd February 2021

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

M/T Prestige litigation and arbitration: key takeaways – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted February 18th, 2021 in arbitration, contracts, injunctions, news, state immunity by sally

‘The latest two decisions arising out of the aftermath of the Prestige oil spill in 2002 have shed some light on three major areas of the English law of arbitration. The Commercial Court’s two decisions in London Steam-Ship Owners’ Mutual Insurance Association Ltd v The Kingdom of Spain ([2020] (EWHC 1582) and The London Steam-Ship Owners’ Mutual Insurance Association Ltd v The Kingdom of Spain [2020] (EWHC 1920) provide an insightful analysis into the scope of the so-called “conditional benefit” principle, the powers of an arbitrator to grant injunctive relief and the court’s interpretation of the arbitration exception in the Brussels Recast Regulation.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 17th February 2021

Source: hardwicke.co.uk

Procurement—withdrawal of challenged award decision ends automatic suspension (Aquila Heywood Ltd v Local Pensions Partnership) – Henderson Chambers

Posted February 11th, 2021 in chambers articles, contracts, news, public procurement, regulations by sally

‘Local Pensions Partnership Administration Ltd (LPPA) awarded a contract under a framework. Acquila Heywood Ltd (Acquila) issued proceedings challenging the award on various bases. LPPA then withdrew the award decision and replaced it with a second decision in which Acquila was again unsuccessful. Acquila did not issue proceedings in respect of the second decision or amend its existing claim. The court held that the automatic suspension which arose under regulation 95 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015), SI 2015/102 only prevented LPPA from awarding the contract pursuant to the first decision. Once that decision had been withdrawn and the bids re-evaluated, it served no further purpose. LLPA was therefore not required to refrain from entering into a contract pursuant to its second decision. LPPA’s application to lift the suspension pursuant to PCR 2015, SI 2015/102, reg 96(1)(a) was unnecessary.’

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Henderson Chambers, 9th February 2021

Source: www.hendersonchambers.co.uk

Astra-Zeneca v EU – the vaccine row explained in straightforward terms – The 36 Group

Posted February 11th, 2021 in chambers articles, contracts, coronavirus, EC law, medicines, news by sally

‘On 1 February, AstraZeneca told the EU that it would deliver around 50% of the 80 million COVID-19 vaccine doses that it had previously told the EU for the first quarter of 2021.’

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The 36 Group, 10th February 2021

Source: 36group.co.uk

Court of Appeal: Expert was not under “fiduciary duty” to client – Litigation Futures

Posted January 14th, 2021 in conflict of interest, contracts, expert witnesses, fiduciary duty, news by sally

‘The Court of Appeal has overturned the first decision in England and Wales to hold that an expert witness owed a fiduciary duty to their client.’

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Litigation Futures, 13th January 2021

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

LEI does not have to fund appeals during “unmeritorious claims” – Litigation Futures

Posted January 6th, 2021 in appeals, barristers, contracts, costs, employment, employment tribunals, insurance, news, striking out, unfair dismissal by sally

‘Legal expenses insurance (LEI) does not have to fund interlocutory appeals that are likely to succeed as part of claims that overall are predicted to fail, the High Court has ruled.’

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Litigation Futures, 5th January 2021

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Law Commission seeks views on smart contracts – Law Commission

Posted December 17th, 2020 in computer programs, contracts, Law Commission, press releases by sally

‘The Law Commission has today [17 December 2020] launched a call for evidence to help ensure that the technology of smart contracts can thrive in England and Wales.’

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Law Comission, 17th December 2020

Source: www.lawcom.gov.uk

Be good, for goodness’ sake: fraud and adjudication enforcement – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted December 11th, 2020 in appeals, construction industry, contracts, disclosure, dispute resolution, enforcement, fraud, news by sally

‘Christmas is on the horizon. It’s necessary, therefore, to ask who’s been naughty and who’s been nice – and how better to do that than by reflecting on the courts’ approach to fraud in adjudications?’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 9th December 2020

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

The law applicable to an arbitration agreement: Part 1 of our analysis of Enka v OOO Insurance – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted December 4th, 2020 in accidents, appeals, arbitration, chambers articles, contracts, fire, foreign jurisdictions, insurance, jurisdiction, news, Russia, Supreme Court by sally

‘In the eagerly awaited judgment in Enka Insaat Ve Sanayi AS v OOO Insurance Company Chubb [2020] UKSC 38, the Supreme Court finally settled an important issue in the law of arbitration that has long divided the authorities and commentary: in the absence of a choice by the parties, where the law applicable to the main contract differs from that of the seat, it is the law of the seat that governs the validity and scope of the arbitration agreement. Our Overview on the decision sets out the key holdings; Part I (below) of our commentary on the decision examines the reasoning of the Majority in greater depth.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 2nd December 2020

Source: hardwicke.co.uk

The cart before the horse when requesting an adjudicator: Land End Developments Construction Limited v Kingstone Civil Engineering Limited [2020] EWHC 2338 – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted November 25th, 2020 in chambers articles, construction industry, contracts, estoppel, jurisdiction, news, statutory interpretation by sally

‘These proceedings related to an adjudicator’s decision dated 27th April 2020 (“the 27th April Decision”) under the Scheme for Construction Contracts (England and Wales) Regulations 1998 as amended (“the Scheme”). Lane End Developments Construction Limited (“Lane End”) was the main contractor on a housing development (“the Development”) and Kingstone Civil Engineering Limited (“Kingstone”) was sub-contracted to carry out enabling works for the Development. On 2nd March 2020, Kingstone issued Interim Payment Application No. 17 in the sum of £356,439.19, but Lane End did not serve a Pay Less Notice nor, until 26th March, did it serve a Payment Notice.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 13th November 2020

Source: hardwicke.co.uk

Judge wrong to find ‘subject to contract’ compromise binding – Litigation Futures

Posted November 23rd, 2020 in appeals, contracts, judges, loans, news, solicitors by sally

‘A judge was wrong to rule that solicitors had reached a binding compromise on a piece of litigation, when their correspondence had expressly been “subject to contract”, the Court of Appeal has decided.’

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Litigation Futures, 23rd November 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

What is the meaning of “good will”? The Court of Appeal continue the debate – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted November 19th, 2020 in accounts, company law, contracts, exclusion clauses, interpretation, legal language, news by sally

‘In Primus International Holding Company & Ors v Triumph Controls – UK Ltd & Anor [2020] EWCA Civ 1228, the Court of Appeal grappled with the proper interpretation of “goodwill” in a commercial contract, considering the natural meaning of “goodwill” in the commercial context and the definition prevalent in accounting practice. The case provides a useful reminder of the approach taken by the courts when construing contracts, highlighting the need for parties to spell out clearly their intended meaning of a term in their contractual agreement if they wish to depart from its ordinary and natural meaning.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 4th November 2020

Source: hardwicke.co.uk

Comparethemarket fined £17.9m by competition watchdog – The Guardian

Posted November 19th, 2020 in compensation, contracts, fines, insurance, internet, news by sally

‘The competition watchdog has imposed a £17.9m fine on price comparison site Comparethemarket.com after it found that clauses in its contracts with home insurers broke competition law.’

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The Guardian, 19th November 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

A note of caution for sports agents, introducers and intermediaries: beware the implied “effective cause” term – 2 Hare Court

Posted November 17th, 2020 in agency, contracts, interpretation, news, sport by sally

‘The recent decision of the High Court in Winlink Marketing Limited v Liverpool Football Club [2020] EWHC 2271 may have long lasting consequences for agents and intermediaries in facilitating and introducing parties to high-value sponsorship deals.’

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2 Hare Court, 2nd November 2020

Source: www.2harecourt.com

FCA v Arch and Others [2020] EWHC 2448 (Comm): COVID-19 business interruption insurance – 12 King’s Bench Walk

Posted November 17th, 2020 in causation, contracts, coronavirus, financial regulation, indemnities, insurance, news by sally

‘The coronavirus pandemic has led to ongoing widespread business disruption and closures with a second national lockdown commencing this week. As such, certainty over whether business can bring claims under their business interruption (“BI”) insurance policies could not be more important.’

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12 King's Bench Walk, 2nd November 2020

Source: www.12kbw.co.uk

Construction companies lose Court of Appeal challenge over expert determination – Local Government Lawyer

Posted November 17th, 2020 in construction industry, contracts, estoppel, housing, news, planning by sally

‘A consortium of construction companies has failed in an appeal over a High Court judge’s dismissal of its claim for a declaration that the decision of an independent expert in relation to a revised section 106 agreement was not conclusive and binding on the parties.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 16th November 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Water Sellers – Nearly Legal

Posted November 16th, 2020 in appeals, contracts, interpretation, landlord & tenant, local government, news, rent, water companies by sally

‘This was RB Kingston upon Thames’ appeal of the High Court’s finding that it was a “water reseller” under the Water Resale Orders 2001 and 2006, and thus not entitled to keep the additional funds it had recovered from the water rates paid by its tenants as part of the rent, though discounts and void allowances by Thames Water. This is significant because some 69 London councils and housing associations had entered the same or similar agreements with Thames Water, and would be liable to repay sums to their tenants for the relevant periods.’

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Nearly Legal, 15th November 2020

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Getting off the hook: A guide to securing release from contractual obligations and varying public contracts in light of COVID-19 – 39 Essex Chambers

Posted November 10th, 2020 in amendments, contracting out, contracts, coronavirus, news, regulations by sally

‘Given the current challenging economic circumstances arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, which the authors fear may worsen over the coming months as employers are weaned off the Government’s furlough scheme, contracting authorities and their contractors may want to be released from obligations under existing contracts (and/or to protect their position having already defaulted on their obligations). Similarly, contracting authorities may want to vary existing contracts going forward. However, for obvious reasons, notably the time and cost involved, the appetite for undertaking a new procurement exercise is likely to be limited. This article therefore provides a guide to the available options for achieving these objectives.’

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39 Essex Chambers, 16th October 2020

Source: www.39essex.com

Novation, step-in and a potential problem with CIGA 2020 – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted November 4th, 2020 in construction industry, contracts, employment, insolvency, news by sally

‘Where the contractor has become insolvent, what obligations can an employer enforce when stepping-in to a previously novated professional consultant’s appointment in a design and build scenario?’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 3rd November 2020

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com