News & Analysis as of

Ambiguous Contract Terms

BCLP

Does “Back to Back” Mean “Pay When Paid” in Construction Contracts?

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In Sze Fung Engineering Limited v Trevi Construction Company Limited [2025] HKCA 278, the Hong Kong Court of Appeal (“CA”) ruled that the “back to back” wording in that case was not a “pay when paid” clause, but governed only...more

Morgan Lewis - Tech & Sourcing

Take Care to Avoid Ambiguity When Using Template Liability Provisions

It is often appealing for businesses that are under pressure to get contracts signed to turn to template documents. While these templates can be very convenient, it is imperative, especially with regard to liability...more

Steptoe & Johnson PLLC

Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia Rules on ‘Duty to Defend’ in Contractual Indemnification Provisions

On June 12, 2023, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia held in WW Consultants, Inc. v. Pocahontas County Public Service District and A-3 USA, Inc., Orders Construction Company, Inc., and Pipe Plus, Inc., No. 21-0485,...more

Gray Reed

Oops! Sellers Didn’t Read The Mineral Deed Before Signing

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Precious little legal analysis is required to grasp the lesson from Springbok Royalty Partners v. Cook.  No mode or manner of legal gymnastics is likely to save parties from the legal effect of a contract they didn’t bother...more

McGuireWoods LLP

6th Circuit Rules Nonsensical Contract Clause Does Not Equate to Ambiguity

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In Hall v. Rag-O-Rama, LLC, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit affirmed the decision of a district court that rejected Sally Hall’s breach of contract claims based on a poorly worded contract provision. The 6th...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

New York Yankees Up to Bat in the Commercial Division Against Former Minor League Affiliate

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A few weeks ago, my colleague, Madeline Greenblatt, wrote a blog about a $1.75 million breach of contract action brought against Bob Dylan in the Manhattan Commercial Division. In her blog, Madeline reminded practitioners...more

Gray Reed

Ambiguity Foils Right of Way Agreement

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The central issue in the Texas case of Cook v. Cimarex Energy Co.: Did Cook grant Cimarex a right of way across Cook’s land to the location of two Cimarex wells. No he didn’t. Reversing the trial court, the court of appeals...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Contract Language Matters, Even to Uncle Sam - Construction and Procurement Law News, Q1 2021

No one can escape the basic rules of contracting, even the federal government. If the contract is clear and unambiguous, then the four corners of the agreement set the rules for the project and the parties – and there’s not...more

Gray Reed

Texas Supreme Court Deems Continuous Development Clause Ambiguous

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In Endeavor Energy Resources, L.P. v. Energen Resources Corp. et al. the Supreme Court of Texas construed a continuous development clause in an oil and gas lease covering 11,300 acres in Howard County. After the primary term,...more

Gray Reed

Contaminated Butane and Propane Creates Fight Over General Terms and Conditions

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Enterprise Products Operating v. Trafigura, A G. asks, Who should pay when a “black blob” that had “the stench of a skunk” was left behind after $27 million worth of an odorless product is delivered from a ship?...more

McGlinchey Stafford

The Bullet Point: Ohio Commercial Law Bulletin: Is my Agreement Ambiguous? Volume 4, Issue 20

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G Challenges to Arbitration Award- Hughes v. Hughes, 10th Dist. Franklin No. 19AP-865, 2020-Ohio-5026- In this appeal, the Tenth Appellate District affirmed the trial court’s decision and confirmed an arbitration award... ...more

Jaburg Wilk

That’s Ambiguous – No It’s Not

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As hard as real estate agents, title companies, attorneys, and anybody else who drafts contracts, may strive for perfection in their drafting, it is not unusual for the finished product to include a provision that is...more

Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP

Summary Enforcement of Settlement Agreement Not Appropriate Due to Ambiguity

In Flessas v. Rouisse, Judge Davis denied “dueling motions” seeking enforcement of the parties’ settlement agreement. The settlement agreement arose out of a dispute in which Costas Flessas alleged that he was fraudulently...more

Rosenberg Martin Greenberg LLP

Invoking MAC Clauses During the Pandemic

Although Material Adverse Change (“MAC”) clauses are quite prevalent in loan and financing documents, there is very little case law in Maryland dealing with the successful or unsuccessful enforcement of these clauses. With...more

Littler

Ontario, Canada: Court of Appeal Upholds Dismissed Employee’s Right to Damages for Value of Incentives That Would Have Vested...

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Whether a wrongfully dismissed employee is entitled to damages as compensation for the value of incentives that would have vested during the reasonable notice period is frequently litigated in Canada....more

Gray Reed

Louisiana Operator’s Bad Faith Does Not Preclude Recovery

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Under Louisiana law, does the operator’s bad faith preclude recovery for the non-operator’s breach of a joint operating agreement if the operator caused the non-operator to breach the JOA but did not itself breach?...more

Burr & Forman

Eleventh Circuit Affirms That Banks Must Use Unambiguous Language When Disclosing Methods For Assessing Overdraft Fees

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In Carol Tims v. LGE Community Credit Union, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that a credit union’s account agreement with one of its customers was ambiguous about which account balance calculation the bank would...more

Hudson Cook, LLP

Keep the Light On: U.S. Supreme Court Holds that Clear Consent is Required for Classwide Arbitration in Lamps Plus, Inc. v. Varela

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We have good news from the U.S. Supreme Court for creditors who use arbitration agreements. On April 24, 2019, in Lamps Plus v. Varela, the Supreme Court held in a 5-4 decision that courts may no longer infer from an...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

Make-Whole Provision Upheld by Bankruptcy Court Despite Lender's Loan Acceleration

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In a win for lenders, on March 18, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York held that an unambiguous make-whole provision in a loan contract was enforceable under New York law, despite the fact that the...more

Morris James LLP

Delaware Superior Court Defines “Including”

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Triumph Aerostructures-Tulsa LLC v. Spirit Aerosystems Inc., C.A. N17C-11-262 MMJ CCLD (August 8, 2018) - Contracts often use the word “including” as part of a definition of a term. But is that to limit or enlarge what...more

Shutts & Bowen LLP

A Pricey Drafting Error in a Jewelry Store Lease

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Many of the topics we cover in this space ultimately come down to problems in drafting.  Of course, these drafting issues aren’t apparent when the parties execute the lease, contract, or other document....more

Gray Reed

NPRI Reservation Survives Rule Against Perpetuities

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Recall the Battle of the Bastards: The heroic Lady Sansa and the duplicitous Lord Baelish gallop over the hill to save the foolish Jon Snow from the heinous Ramsey Bolton. In similar fashion, but without the malnourished...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Supreme Court Decides CNH Industrial N.V. v. Reese, No. 17-515

On February 20, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court decided CNH Industrial N.V. v. Reese, holding in a per curium opinion that collective-bargaining agreements are to be interpreted according to ordinary principles of contract law,...more

Carlton Fields

Eighth Circuit Holds That A Motion To Dismiss Based On An Arbitration Clause Is Not A Challenge To The Court’s Jurisdiction

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A municipality sued the company that constructed its water treatment facility, in connection with contaminants found in the water supply. The parties had entered into a series of agreements which contained choice of law and...more

Steptoe & Johnson PLLC

First Look - Summer 2017: Issues and Developments in Insurance Law

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The first step in any coverage analysis is determining who is an insured. Sounds easy, right? Not necessarily. As commentators have noted, “[t]here is a distinction between a ‘named insured’ and an ‘insured.’” Indeed, another...more

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