Compact Contract

A brief look at topical issues in contract

21 June 2018 - Shreya Aren

In Aras v National Bank of Greece, the court looked at three incentive fee agreements and determined the date of the exit event triggering the payment and the appropriate currency exchange rate. Set against the backdrop of the Greek economic crisis and a restructuring plan for the National Bank of Greece, the agreements were to › Read More

13 June 2018 - Oliver Rule

In Heis v FSCS, the Court of Appeal stepped in to prevent an innovative Company Voluntary Arrangement, in which a small number of MF Global UK creditors had agreed to buy out the majority for £64m, from coming into effect. The case turned on the meaning of a condition precedent. If there were a “Disputed › Read More

16 May 2018 - Richard Farnhill

This morning the Supreme Court handed down its judgment in Rock Advertising v MWB Business. It reversed the Court of Appeal and found that clauses limiting the parties’ ability to vary their contract are binding. A purported variation to the contract that fails to comply with the clause will therefore be ineffective. MWB had rented › Read More

10 May 2018 - Andrzej O'Leary

In Paintshield Ltd v XPEL Technologies Corp, the High Court favoured a contextual interpretation over a literal one to find that XPEL had not breached an IP licence agreement. Paintshield had licensed to XPEL patterns for paint protection films for the bodywork of cars. These patterns were uploaded by Paintshield to a database owned by XPEL › Read More

26 April 2018 - Jin Ooi

In Health & Case Management Ltd v The Physiotherapy Network, the court held there was no contractual obligation on HCML to make a certain number of referrals.  However, HCML had breached its good faith obligation by using TPN’s data to set up a rival network. Below I have picked out the court’s findings on the provisions in › Read More

25 April 2018 - Lucy Judge

In Blackpool FC Properties v Baltic International Bank, the recitals of an agreement for the development of the club’s stadium were influential in informing the natural and ordinary meaning of the clause in dispute. Baltic’s loan, and BFC Properties’ commitment, was to cover phases one and two of the development. A recital provided that the › Read More

23 April 2018 - Crawford Jamieson

In AMT Futures v Boural the High Court has given guidance on the continuing nature of obligations under an exclusive jurisdiction clause. AMT is an “execution only” derivatives broker involved in litigation in Germany with certain of its former clients. The contract between AMT and those clients contained a clause which provided that they  ‘submit › Read More

19 April 2018 - Muir MacKean

In Openwork v Forte, the Court of Appeal confirmed that finding a clause lacks certainty is only ever a last resort. A provision, the overall effect of which is explicit despite its terms being incomplete, may still be sufficiently certain in effect to be enforced. Mr Forte, a financial adviser, had entered into a contract › Read More

29 March 2018 - Jason Rix

Last week, Richard Hooley gave one of his regular talks on recent developments in banking and finance law. Below I have set out a couple of knotty contractual issues I noted down: “Clever” (or careful) drafting may stop a clause being a penalty (Holyoake v Candy). A requirement to pay a redemption amount on voluntary early › Read More

16 March 2018 - Crawford Jamieson

In Amey Birmingham Highways v Birmingham City Council, the Court of Appeal offered guidance on the meaning of the phrase ‘manifest error’. Under a PFI contract with the City Council, Amey agreed to maintain Birmingham’s road system. The roads to be maintained were defined by reference to a data set, 60% of which was based › Read More