The High Court has rejected a claim for misrepresentation, finding that although a fraudulent misrepresentation had been made, it had not induced the claimant to enter into the transaction: Ahuja Investments Ltd v Victorygame Ltd [2021] EWHC 2382 (Ch). The court’s finding as to (lack of) inducement was based in large part on the claimant’s … Read more

In a recent judgment, the High Court held that a clause in a settlement agreement requiring immediate payment of all outstanding amounts in the event of a late payment (an acceleration clause) was capable of falling within the penalty doctrine, but an obligation to pay a daily sum accruing pro rata on any outstanding amounts … Read more

The Supreme Court has overturned a Court of Appeal decision which held that a clause providing for liquidated damages for delay did not apply where the contractor had failed to complete the contracted work: Triple Point Technology, Inc. v PTT Public Company Ltd [2021] UKSC 29. The Supreme Court’s decision restores the orthodox interpretation of … Read more

A recent High Court decision has given a helpful analysis of the consequences that follow from delivering off-specification oil: Galtrade Limited v BP Oil International Limited [2021] EWHC 1796 (Comm). The underlying facts of the case come up quite often in practice, although reported decisions are less frequent. A seller delivered off-spec hydrocarbons (in this … Read more

In a recent decision, the High Court found that a supplier’s standard terms and conditions had been incorporated by reference into the contract, but an exclusion clause in those terms and conditions failed to satisfy the requirement of reasonableness under s.11 of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 (“UCTA”): Phoenix Interior Design Ltd v Henley … Read more

A recent decision in the High Court has given useful guidance on the interpretation of a contractual time-bar clause: Arab Lawyers Networks Company v Thomson Reuters (Professional) UK Limited [2021] EWHC 1728 (Comm). The clause prevented either party from bringing a claim more than one year after “the basis for the claim becomes known to … Read more

The Court of Appeal has held that the English court had no power under article 33 of the recast Brussels Regulation to stay in favour of prior proceedings commenced in New Jersey, where the English court had jurisdiction under a non-exclusive jurisdiction clause. It made no difference that, absent the clause, the court would have … Read more

The High Court has held that parties’ agreement on the substantive terms of an unsigned addendum to an existing agreement did not give rise to a legally binding contract, despite neither the parties’ discussions nor the addendum itself being expressly “subject to contract”: Jamp Pharma Corp v Unichem Laboratories Ltd [2021] EWHC 1712 (Comm). Sir … Read more