Obligations to endeavour to achieve some object are commonly agreed in commercial contracts where the relevant party is not willing to take on an absolute obligation to that effect. Typical clauses may require the use of “best endeavours”, “reasonable endeavours” or “all reasonable endeavours”, but it is not always clear what these terms require in practice. In this fifth … Read more

In a recent decision, the Commercial Court found that an express and (on its face) unqualified right to discharge the operator in a Joint Operating Agreement (JOA) was not subject to any implied term of good faith, or that the right would not be exercised capriciously, arbitrarily or unreasonably: TAQA Bratani Limited and Others v RockRose … Read more

In a recent case, the High Court has clarified the correct approach to reducing damages in order to reflect a finding of contributory negligence where there is also a contractual cap on liability: Natixis SA v Marex Financial and Access World Logistics (Singapore) Pte Ltd [2019] EWHC 3163. The defendant argued that the court should … Read more

The Court of Appeal has granted an award for unjust enrichment where a claimant was contractually entitled to receive an introduction fee if a property was sold for a specified price and the property had been sold for less than that price: Philip Barton v Timothy Gwyn-Jones [2019] EWCA Civ 1999. The court rejected the … Read more

In a recent decision, the High Court has upheld a claim for breach of collateral warranty where the claimant was induced to arrange the purchase of the defendant’s laser hair removal devices for use in its business as a result of the defendant’s statements about the quality and anticipated performance of the devices. The claimant … Read more

The traditional starting point in English contract law is that parties are free to do what they like so long as they do not breach the agreed terms. But it is becoming increasingly common for parties to agree terms requiring them to act in “good faith”, or similar. Even where no such term is expressed … Read more

The High Court has rejected a company’s claim for commission for the introduction of a sports sponsorship opportunity on the basis that there was no binding contract between the parties. However, the company’s claim for unjust enrichment in respect of services provided in facilitating the sponsorship deal was allowed: AMP Advisory & Management Partners AG … Read more

Parties may say all sorts of things when negotiating a contract. Where sophisticated commercial parties are involved, most pre-contractual statements will, no doubt, be both carefully considered and accurate. But as we all know, things can go wrong. Where a pre-contractual statement turns out to be false, the implications can be serious. The counterparty may have a right to unwind the … Read more