News & Analysis as of

Contract Interpretation Contract Drafting Contract Terms

Whitman Legal Solutions, LLC

Why People “May” Incorrectly Use “Shall,” “Must,” and “Will” Even Though They “Should” Know Better

Contracts, real estate leases, and other legal documents also often include provisions that are mandatory (like obligatos) and/or are optional (like ossias). Terms such as "shall," "must," "will," "may," and "should” each...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Overview of Three Recent Decisions on the Interpretation of Contractual Clauses

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on

English courts will seek to determine the objective meaning of a contractual provision when a dispute as to its interpretation arises. The starting point is the ordinary meaning of the words in the agreement but as and when...more

Barnea Jaffa Lande & Co.

Israeli Contracts Law Proposed Amendment – How Dramatic Is It?

The Israeli Ministry of Justice recently published a memorandum of law amending the Contracts Law, which seeks to add unique rules of interpretation to business contracts. In the economic press, we saw dramatic headlines...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

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

The Basics of Contract Interpretation: A Primer for Non-Lawyers in the Construction Industry

Every first year law student in the U.S. takes a course on the Law of Contracts. It’s a rite of passage where lawyers-to-be learn all about things like consideration and legally-enforceable promises. And as lawyers, we also...more

A&O Shearman

It’s not you, it’s me: relational contract to be interpreted like all others

A&O Shearman on

The Court of Appeal has (thankfully) confirmed there are no special rules of interpretation when it comes to relational contracts. This was a dispute about whether Quantum Actuarial had to do what was necessary to...more

A&O Shearman

A cautionary tale of the importance of keeping track of changes

A&O Shearman on

A recent Scottish case involving a dispute over the calculation of the purchase price under a share purchase agreement highlights the importance of ensuring that definitions (and other terms in an agreement) accurately...more

Ward and Smith, P.A.

When Is a Deal a Deal?

Ward and Smith, P.A. on

Oftentimes, individuals attempt to negotiate deals on their own without the benefit of legal advice and assistance. At best, this can lead to certain pitfalls. At worst, this can lead to the complete invalidity of the...more

Jones & Keller, P.C.

The Importance of Contract Language

Jones & Keller, P.C. on

Several years ago, unclear, ambiguous, and inconsistent contract language (not to mention some bizarre lawyer shenanigans) cost the owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers one-half of the team in divorce proceedings...more

Allen Matkins

Howsoever Denominated, This Was Not Promissory Fraud

Allen Matkins on

Parties exchange drafts of a contract and before signing one party surreptitiously substitutes provisions in the copy to be executed.  Some might call this "promissory fraud", but as Justice William Dato explains in an...more

A&O Shearman

Bacardi guaranteed or indemnified to breeze through contractual interpretation

A&O Shearman on

Once again the court looks at the vexed question of the distinction between a guarantee and an indemnity....more

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

Bouncing Back January 28, 2021 | Issue No. 20 - English Courts Consider Material Adverse Effect Clause Invoked by the Effects of...

In the recent case of Travelport Ltd v Wex Inc [2020] EWHC 2670 (Comm) (the “Travelport Case”), the High Courts of England considered the construction of a material adverse effect clause (“MAE Clause”) in which a party sought...more

Gray Reed

Texas Supreme Court Deems Continuous Development Clause Ambiguous

Gray Reed on

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

A&O Shearman

Judge hadn't erred by referring to pre-contractual negotiations

A&O Shearman on

The Court of Appeal has briefly considered the old chestnut of the admissibility of pre-contractual negotiations as an aid to interpreting an agreement: Morris Homes v Cheshire West and Chester Council....more

Goodwin

English Court Rules On COVID-19 Material Adverse Effect In M&A Transaction

Goodwin on

On 12 October 2020, the Commercial Court handed down judgment in the first case in which the English courts have had to consider whether COVID-19 resulted in a material adverse effect (“MAE”) (Travelport Ltd & Ors v WEX Inc...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

WEX Win Interpreting COVID-19 Material Adverse Effect Shows M&A Drafting Traps

On October 12, 2020, in Travelport Ltd & Ors v WEX Inc [2020] EWHC 2670, Justice Cockerill of the English High Court held that WEX had in large part correctly interpreted the terms of the material adverse effect (MAE) clause...more

McDermott Will & Emery

[Webinar] Data License Agreement Litigation – What You Need to Know - October 28th, 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm EDT

McDermott Will & Emery on

Data license agreements have been a hot ticket item of the digital health market and are here to stay. With the exponential growth in licensed data, including de-identified patient data, data license agreement litigation and...more

Jaburg Wilk

That’s Ambiguous – No It’s Not

Jaburg Wilk on

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

Licensee Challenges Ruling that a Standard Language Forum Selection Clause Bars PTAB Proceedings 

In a case that could have a significant impact on the interpretation and drafting of patent licensing agreements, a patent licensee filed an appeal for an en banc proceeding at the Federal Circuit to challenge the court’s...more

White and Williams LLP

The Dangers of Copy and Paste: Using Corporate Statutory Language in an LLC May Result in Unintended Consequences

White and Williams LLP on

Limited liability companies (LLCs) are famously referred to as “creatures of contract”, whereas the governance of a corporation is comparatively fixed by statute. When forming an LLC, the members have broad discretion to...more

Hudson Cook, LLP

Don't Assume What a Court Will Assume About Your Contract

Hudson Cook, LLP on

It's often difficult to predict how a court will interpret text, whether the text is part of a statute, a regulation, or a contract. Sure, courts have tools to aid their interpretations, but how a court will apply those tools...more

BCLP

Practically complete or completely impractical? Navigating the pitfalls of what constitutes practical completion

BCLP on

Many a construction dispute turns on defects. A significant subset of those turn on whether the existence of defects prevents practical completion from taking place. Originally published on the Practical Law Construction...more

Butler Snow LLP

Contracts May “Legally” Obligate a Party to Pay, Even Without a Court Judgment

Butler Snow LLP on

Time and again, courts have been tasked with construing ambiguous and inconsistent terms in contracts. Recently, the Sixth Circuit revisited the issue of interpreting contractual language in Dark Horse Express, LLC v. Lancer...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Omaha Breach: Doctrine of First Breach May Hinge on Correct Contract Interpretation

Which party first breached a contract often plays a determinative role in assessing entitlement for damages in a contract dispute. This theory is often referred to as the First or Material Breach Doctrine....more

Cooley LLP

Blog: When Approval for a Drug “Indication” Gets Murky: Drafting Milestones to Avoid Disputes

Cooley LLP on

According to a recent study by SRS of recent private life sciences deals, disputes over earn-outs arose in about one-third (36%) of all milestones that were expected to be hit by September 2016. While most disputes were not...more

26 Results
 / 
View per page
Page: of 2

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
- hide
- hide