News & Analysis as of

Contract Negotiations United Kingdom

BCLP

Drafters beware! Court of Appeal on the significance of express terms

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Every so often the Court will reaffirm the primacy of express terms while re-stating the rule that implied terms can only be relied on to the extent they are (i) so obvious as to go without saying, or (ii) necessary to give...more

A&O Shearman

Sign your engagement letter. It’s not up for negotiation

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The High Court has provided a stark reminder of the risks that arise if parties, despite extensive negotiations, fail to sign their agreements, in this case an engagement letter....more

BCLP

In the spotlight: Statutory Implied Conditions, Exclusions and Questions of Reasonableness

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A recent case (Last Bus Ltd (trading as Dublin Coach) v Dawsongroup Bus and Coach Ltd [2022]) has provided a useful reminder of the circumstances in which commercial parties may exclude statutory implied terms, as well as...more

Latham & Watkins LLP

Complex Commercial Litigation Law Review, 4th Edition - England & Wales

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Litigation is, on one analysis, all about telling stories to impartial decision makers. Complex commercial litigation means that those stories are more detailed, more involved and more intricate. That means that telling the...more

Dechert LLP

Takeover Panel Bulletin in Relation to Irrevocable Commitments and Letters of Intent

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On 17 November 2021, the Takeover Panel (the “Panel”) published Panel Bulletin 3 (the “Bulletin”) relating to the requirements of Rule 2.10(c) of the Takeover Code (the “Code”). Under Rule 2.10(c), a person who has given an...more

A&O Shearman

Hard-nosed commercial negotiation that exploits monopoly advantage not duress

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Times Travel’s business depended upon selling Pakistan International Airlines’ tickets. The travel agency was pressured by the airline to waive claims for unpaid commissions under its old contract, by the threat of the...more

A&O Shearman

When lawful acts can (and cannot) constitute economic duress

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Even though economic ‘lawful act’ duress exists in English law, its scope in contractual negotiations is “extremely limited”. To set aside a contract under lawful act duress, the defendant must have applied illegitimate...more

BCLP

Key trends in contractual negotiations

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The pandemic has put many contractual relationships under immense pressure. We explored in our last Business as (un)usual article some of the problems which contracting parties may have inadvertently created for themselves...more

A&O Shearman

Material adverse effect clauses and Covid-19

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A Material Adverse Effect clause in an SPA excluded conditions resulting from a pandemic except where those conditions would have a disproportionate effect on the target companies as compared to companies in the “industries”...more

BCLP

What law governs your arbitration clause? You decide.

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It’s midnight and you’re in the final stages of negotiation in a complex international transaction. It’s probably a safe bet that the one thing that is not keeping you awake is a concern over what law governs the arbitration...more

Morgan Lewis

UK Takeover Panel: COVID-19 and UK Lockdown Insufficient to Trigger MAC Conditions

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The offeror for Moss Bros sought to rely on standard material adverse change conditions to lapse the offer, on the basis of the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and related UK governmental measures on Moss Bros. ...more

White & Case LLP

Sanctioned default? The English High Court considers the effect of foreign illegality on English obligations

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As sanctions ramp up globally, it is increasingly important for commercial parties engaged in cross border transactions to have certainty (i) as promisees (e.g. lenders) as to when their counterparties may legitimately avoid...more

White & Case LLP

Contractual duties of good faith in "relational contracts"

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In a long running group litigation between a number of Sub-Post Masters and Post Office Limited, Mr Justice Fraser, sitting in the English High Court, has given detailed consideration of the issue of relational contracts in...more

McGuireWoods LLP

Companies: Beware of Relying on Precontractual Negotiations

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The recent decision in Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd v Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council [2019] EWCA Civ 526, considered the extent to which precontractual material, such as precontractual negotiations or a proposal, may be...more

White & Case LLP

The EU loan syndication impact assessment is out: more competition scrutiny ahead?

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Setting the scene The long anticipated European Commission (DG COMP) report on "EU loan syndication and its impact on competition in credit markets" (see here) has finally been published. The study primarily focuses on the...more

WilmerHale

USTR Notifies Congress of Intent to Begin Trade Talks with EU UK and Japan

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On October 16, 2018, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (“USTR”) notified the U.S. Congress of the Administration’s intent to negotiate three separate trade agreements with the European Union (“EU”), the United...more

Dechert LLP

Global Private Equity Newsletter - Winter/Spring 2018 Edition: How Should US Sellers and Buyers of Businesses View European...

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As M&A practitioners who do deals in Europe as well as in the U.S. know, the certainty of banking commitments is stronger as a rule in Europe than in the U.S. So much so that, given the choice, it can be a factor in the...more

BCLP

EU & Competition Law Update – July 2017

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On 14 June 2017, the EU Commission announced that it was opening an investigation into Sanrio, owner of the Hello Kitty brand. Sanrio have been accused by the Commission of an infringement of Article 101 TFEU, the prohibition...more

Latham & Watkins LLP

Penalty Clauses in Project Finance Transactions

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A number of recent English court decisions have recast the test for determining when a contractual provision may be unenforceable under English law as a “penalty clause”. The rule against penalty clauses is particularly...more

A&O Shearman

Limited role for contra proferentem rule in the interpretation of commercial contracts

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In a dispute over the scope of an exemption clause in a construction contract, the Court of Appeal declined to apply the contra proferentem rule, emphasising its very limited role when interpreting a commercial contract...more

A&O Shearman

Renegotiation clause in long-term contract – what if parties cannot agree?

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A long-term licence agreement provided that if the parties could not agree on changes to the contract to reflect a major change in circumstances the matter would be referred to an arbitrator who would decide the new terms....more

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

English Law: Do You Take Yours With or Without? – Prejudice, that is...

The practice of placing the magic words “without prejudice and subject to contract” on every exchange during commercial negotiations can be thought a “belt and braces” or “no harm, no foul” approach, but experience and a...more

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

English Contract Law: Has the Camel’s Nose of “Good Faith” Crept Under the Tent Flap?

Under the English Arbitration Act 1996 the grounds on which an English arbitration award can be challenged in court are very limited. Section 67 of the Act provides that a challenge may be brought on the basis that the...more

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