Contract – Page 2 – Law Journals

Contract: Making your mind up

Tom Whittaker weighs up the judicial scrutiny of contractual discretion ‘Historically, the court has required only that the relevant decision be made without arbitrariness, capriciousness and irrationality. More recent cases, however, suggest that the court may also require that the decision be reasonable.’ Contracts often confer obligations to make decisions, exercise discretion or form opinions …

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Contract: A fitting judgment

Richard Booth reports on a recent Supreme Court judgment highlighting the need for clarity of drafting ‘The case provides categorical confirmation that an obligation to carry out and complete works without defects such that they are fit for purpose cannot be avoided on the basis the employer specified a particular item or design.’ The Supreme …

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Contract: What’s the point?

Michael Davar analyses the recent case of Astor and the principle of futility in contractual construction ‘The courts have moved to applying a strict literal approach to the interpretation of commercial contracts.’ In his judgment in Astor Management AG v Atalaya Mining plc [2017], Leggatt J stated that: There is, in my opinion, no principle …

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Contract: A question of interpretation

Sandra Clarke examines the factors that determine a contract for the disposition of an interest in land ‘The essential terms for a valid contract to sell land are the parties, the property and the consideration.’ The recent Court of Appeal decision in Rollerteam Ltd v Riley [2016] adds to the decided cases surrounding s2(1), Law …

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Contract: Nohow or contrariwise

Paul Brehony and William Gow consider the pendulum of case law in contractual interpretation ‘Parties should draft express provisions to clarify intention and not rely on pre-contractual representations or negotiations.’ In Investors Compensation Scheme Ltd v West Bromwich Building Society [1997], Leggatt LJ cited Alice Through the Looking Glass when rejecting the interpretation adopted by …

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Contract: The letter of the law

In a question of construction the court will give precedence to the strict meaning of the contract. Ed Socha and Sarah Mitchell explain ‘The process of construction requires that the court assumes, if possible, that every word and phrase has been considered and deliberately inserted.’ The recent case of Dooba Developments Ltd v McLagan Investments …

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Contract: Caution to the wind

Rebecca Williams and David Wright assess the impact of a decision on contractual obligations ‘In the view of the court, given the cracks that had been discovered by GGOWL in the first shipment, the only reasonable course available to Fluor was to carry out an investigation into the true condition of the monopiles and establish …

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Contract: Gotta have faith

In the second of two articles, Chris Parker, Gregg Rowan and Nick Pantlin look at the judicial implication of a duty of good faith ‘The precise formulation of the duty differs between cases, but the essence seems to be a requirement to exercise the discretion honestly and in good faith, and not to act in …

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Contract: Keeping the faith

In the first of two articles, Chris Parker, Gregg Rowan and Nick Pantlin help readers to navigate obligations of good faith in commercial contracts ‘In general, a duty of good faith, whether express or implied, will not require a party entirely to subvert its own commercial interests to those of the counterparty, or to give …

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Contract: The age of reason

Sarah Boland considers a recent ruling on the UCTA unreasonableness test ‘It is not necessary for the full suite of a party’s standard written terms and conditions to be incorporated into a contract before the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 (UCTA) will apply.’The High Court has found that the requirement of reasonableness imposed by the …

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