Welcome to this year's round up of key cases relevant to sourcing and commercial contracts.
Click on the headings below to read the full article.
In this issue
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Triple Point Technology v PTT Public Company Ltd [2019] EWCA Civ 230
10 December 2019
The Court of Appeal considered whether a clause conferring daily liquidated damages for delay applied to the particular factual circumstances and, if so, what event brought the liquidated damages to an end.
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Cargill International Trading Pte Ltd v Uttam Galva Steels Ltd [2019] EWHC 476 (Comm)
10 December 2019
In this summary judgment Cargill succeeded in arguing that an interest rate applicable to late payment did not operate as an unenforceable penalty.
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Sheikh Tahnoon v Ioannis Kent [2018] EWHC 333 (Comm)
10 December 2019
Last year a joint venture between friends was held to be subject to an implied duty of good faith. This duty, said the High Court, required the parties to work with greater mutual trust than would be the case for an ordinary contractual bargain. The parties were entitled to expect greater candour and co-operation than would be the case when contracting at arm's length.
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Bates v Post Office Ltd (no 3) [2019] EWHC 606 (QB)
10 December 2019
This year, in the high profile dispute between the Post Office and many of its sub-postmasters, Fraser J considered what characteristics might signify that a contract is "relational".
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New Balance Athletics Inc v The Liverpool Football Club and Athletic Grounds Limited [2019] EWHC 2837 (Comm)
10 December 2019
In a recent decision about good faith the court considered what "good faith" meant in the context of bidding for work.
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UTB LLC v Sheffield United
10 December 2019
An Investors and Shareholders agreement was not subject to an implied of good faith.
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New York Laser Clinic Limited v Naturastudios Limited [2019] EWHC 2892 (QB)
10 December 2019
This decision illustrates how a supplier or distributor can be liable to a customer even where the goods in question were bought by the customer from a third party. The distributor's exposure to the customer can be high in this scenario because, without a written contract with the customer, it lacks the protections commonly found in its standard terms and conditions of sale.
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BV Nederlandse Industrie Van Eiprodukten v Rembrandt Enterprises Inc [2019] EWCA Civ 596
10 December 2019
A decision last year at first instance illustrated how a "negotiating device" (in this case, to encourage a purchaser to agree to a price increase) can constitute fraudulent misrepresentation. This year the same dispute was referred to the Court of Appeal because the supplier disputed the customer inducement (or causation) test which had been applied by the High Court as part of the customer's misrepresentation claim.
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Wells v Devani [2019] UKSC 4
10 December 2019
The Supreme Court considered whether an oral agreement between vendor and estate agent was sufficiently certain as to be binding.
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(1) Mr Stavros Neocleous (2) Mrs Kalliroy Neocleous v Ms Christine Rees [2019] EWHC 2452 (Ch)
10 December 2019
An exchange of emails satisfied the legal requirement for the sale of land to be in in writing and signed (section 2(1) Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989).
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The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.