Creating a contract on a standard form is relatively straightforward… isn’t it? Ms Wild bought a 1970s house in Cheshire and wanted to renovate it. Her professional drawn up specification envisaged that any contract would be on the RIBA Domestic Building Contract 2014 (a relatively short and simple building contract).
What happens when your contract lacks clarity? How will the English courts interpret it? In Mott MacDonald v Trant Engineering, the judge reminded contract writers and users of these principles by which they work out what your contract words actually mean: if the words are not ambiguous, then the courts
This week my eldest son is 21. Back in 2000, we couldn’t record his every move as no-one owned a camera phone, we couldn’t share his image with relatives across the world as Facebook hadn’t been dreamt up, we couldn’t press play to sing him a lullaby wherever we were
The problem with being too focused on the deal, is that sometimes you don’t record what you think you have both agreed. In Donovan v Grainmarket (2021), the Court of Appeal said: the task of deciding what the parties had agreed was not easy [as] the parties’ contract was not
What is the purpose or function of a contract? Is the focus legal or operational? According to research from World Commerce and Contracting, contract users defined at least 11 functions for contracts including: legal: a record of the parties rights and responsibilities; protection and remedies in the event of a
What is a performance bond? Despite its name, a performance bond doesn’t guarantee performance – the surety promises to pay up to a specific sum for some sort of contractor breach provided the employer gives it enough evidence. If you’d like an analogy, think of them as a type of
Any contract – whatever its subject, however long it is, whether paper-based, digital or verbal – can have terms added to by either legislation, custom or by case law. These additions are called implied terms. This post summarises a recent Court of Appeal decision which clarified when/how the courts can
Contracts have a wide variety of functions, but one which is too often overlooked is their role as a communication tool. For that they need to be accurate, legally sound and enhance trust. Communicating trust Trust is a many-faceted word, combining concepts of integrity, intent, capabilities and results (or, as
You may not have to give life or death information, but clear language can ensure your message is heard, understood and can be immediately actioned. Read the full edition here Which are the worst contracts for ambiguity? Find out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwJHMcpHckc&feature=youtu.be
In a recent claim for nearly £1.8m against an online betting company, the judge held that none of these features are… at first blush features of an open and fair consumer contract that is easy to access and understand. On the basis it is easier to learn from the mistakes
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