The Court of Appeal has held that a charterer was liable for substantial damages for its failure to make shipments of iron ore pellets under a shipping contract, where the charterer was unable to perform the contract due to a dam burst: Classic Maritime Inc v Limbungan Makmur SDN BHD [2019] EWCA Civ 1102. The court … Read more
The High Court has held that a purchaser was entitled to an award of damages amounting to the full purchase price under a share purchase agreement (“SPA”), where the sellers were found in breach of warranty relating to the accounts of the target company: 116 Cardamon Ltd v MacAlister & Anor [2019] EWHC 1200 (Comm). … Read more
The Court of Appeal has held that, where a buyer wrongly terminated a two year contract, the seller could only claim its own loss of profit and not that of a sister company that was supplying 50% of the products in question: BV Nederlandse Industrie Van Eiprodukten v Rembrandt Enterprises, inc [2019] EWCA Civ 596. … Read more
The High Court has dismissed a purchaser’s claim for breach of warranty under a share purchase agreement (“SPA”) where it alleged that damages should be assessed on a “hypothetical indemnity” basis, ie on the basis that had the true position been known, the purchaser would have contracted for an indemnity that it did not in … Read more
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has held that the rule against penalties did not apply where an employer imposed certain contractual provisions (which required the employee to resell shares at acquisition cost and to forfeit loan notes) following an employee’s resignation, without alleging any breach of contract on the part of the employee: Nosworthy v … Read more
In a recent decision, the Court of Appeal held that a clause providing for liquidated damages for delay did not apply where the contractor failed to complete the contracted work (the installation of a new software system). The employer under the contract was therefore entitled to recover damages for breach assessed on ordinary principles, rather … Read more
The Supreme Court has given a rare judgment on the court’s approach to awarding damages for a “loss of a chance” in a professional negligence claim: Perry v Raleys Solicitors [2019] UKSC 5. The decision confirms the approach laid down by the Court of Appeal in Allied Maples Group Ltd v Simmons & Simmons (a firm) [1995] 1 … Read more
The Court of Appeal has confirmed that an auditor was not liable for break costs incurred as a result of its negligent advice in relation to the accounting treatment of interest rate swaps, as those costs fell outside the scope of the auditor’s duty of care – upholding the decision of the High Court (considered … Read more
The High Court has found that clauses in engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts relating to solar power plants, which provided for a delay damages rate of £500 per day per MWp, were enforceable liquidated damages clauses: GPP Big Field LLP v Solar EPC Solutions SL [2018] EWHC 2866 (Comm). Applying the Supreme Court’s recast … Read more