Practical Law

“There is little doubt that the Agreement is tortuously, laboriously and…badly drafted. It makes any draftsman itch to have a try at it. However I have to decide what it means.” As someone involved in drafting and negotiating construction contracts, Proudman J’s analysis of the sale contract in Bristol Rovers (1883) Ltd v Sainsbury’s Supermarkets Ltd … Continue reading Endeavouring to be clear: what does “all reasonable endeavours” mean in practice? →

The Court of Appeal’s decision earlier this year in Hunt and others v Optima (Cambridge) Ltd and others set me thinking about completion certificates in the context of construction projects generally. 

I was surprised at the Court of Appeal’s recent decision in Daventry District Council v Daventry & District Housing Ltd. To me, this seems at odds with what I thought were the well-established rules of contract interpretation and rectification.

We regularly act for clients negotiating professional appointments. Historically, in the domestic market, professional consultants had not sought to limit liability for losses caused by their negligence or breach. However, over the past few years, requests for limits on liability have become increasingly common.

In my November blog post, I thought there was a real risk that any deal reached during the Copenhagen climate conference would be a toothless tiger, with very few binding commitments to reducing CO2 emissions. Well, on reflection, even that pessimistic prediction was a little over-optimistic. The Copenhagen “accord” fails to provide any binding commitments … Continue reading There is no Planet B: after Copenhagen, what next? →

As I write this post, there are less than 33 days until the UN-sponsored Copenhagen climate change conference begins, where world leaders will meet to thrash out a successor to the Kyoto protocol. Gordon Brown recently described the conference as the last chance to set the course for a reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions … Continue reading Copenhagen: the last chance saloon →

In the construction industry, more than any other industry, there is a tendency for works to be carried out on the basis of unsigned contracts and letters of intent. While there are often legitimate commercial pressures to start work before all the contractual terms have been agreed, two recent cases have highlighted the risks in … Continue reading Letters of intent: often used and often problematic →