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Contract Interpretation Contract Terms

BCLP

"Battle of the Forms” in the Hong Kong Construction Industry

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What lawyers call a “battle of the forms” occurs when two parties, negotiating a contract, exchange conflicting standard terms during the contract negotiation and formation. This leads to the obvious and not uncommon dilemma:...more

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

McGinnis Lochridge

Tackling Free-Use and At-The-Well Royalties

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This lease royalty case involved a dispute over whether the lessee was permitted to deduct volumes of gas used off the premises to power post-production activities on other gas produced from the same well. Carl v. Hilcorp...more

BCLP

Shifting Contractual Risks and Managing Electronic Contracts

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In this Insight, Shy Jackson takes a look at the decision of John Sisk and Son Limited v Capital & Centric (Rose) Limited [2025] EWHC 594 (TCC) where the court had to grapple with interpreting a contract which was kept on a...more

A&O Shearman

DBS, delay and decoding conditions precedent

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The Court of Appeal has dismissed a claim by the UK Home Office's Disclosure and Barring Service for over GBP1.5 million worth of delay payments against its IT supplier Tata. The contract contained a condition precedent to...more

Mayer Brown

Understanding How ‘Course of Performance’ Principles Impact Financings

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - When contract language is ambiguous and the court is tasked with finding the intended meaning, interpretation principles – such as “course of performance” – may be used. But did you know this principle...more

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

British Columbia and Ontario: Two Diverging Approaches to Interpreting Termination Provisions

Overview - Employers increasingly face challenges regarding whether termination provisions in their employment agreements will be determined to be enforceable if challenged in court. As we continue to see increasing court...more

A&O Shearman

Disputes 101 - Boilerplate provisions and how not to get scalded

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In the fourth and final post on our series on Disputes 101 we look at boilerplate provisions on: entire agreements, non-reliance, oral variation (aka oral modification) and waiver. Entire agreement and non-reliance - Entire...more

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals Restrictively Interprets Standard Government Release Language

The ASBCA restrictively interpreted standard release language in a government modification. In the Sauer Construction case, ambiguous release language couldn't bar a remediation claim, highlighting the need for clear...more

JAMS

The Complexities of Construction Dispute Resolution, Part I: Statutory Adjudication

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While disputes can occur in any type of commercial transaction, construction contains a unique mix of “ingredients” that increase the likelihood that disputes will arise. Whereas most commercial transactions involve only a...more

Snell & Wilmer

Recent Colorado Appeals Court Decision Provides Further Guidance on the Colorado Economic Loss Rule Doctrine

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In the recent decision of Veolia Water Tech., Inc. v. Antero Treatment LLC, 2024 COA 126 (Colo. App. 2024), the Colorado Court of Appeals addressed the “murky” application of the economic loss rule to the intentional tort of...more

Husch Blackwell LLP

California Supreme Court Decides Cotenancy Provisions Are Here to Stay

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On December 19, 2024, the Supreme Court of California passed down a unanimous decision in a lawsuit closely watched by commercial real estate landlords and retail tenants that involved the validity of so-called cotenancy...more

A&O Shearman

Disputes 101- Contractual interpretation: through the looking-glass

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If you draft contracts, you want to ensure, if there's ever a dispute, that the court agrees with your meaning. As a litigator, you will want the words to mean whatever your client wants them to mean. Either way, you need to...more

Morrison & Foerster LLP

Top Commercial Disputes of 2024: What You Need to Know and What to Look Out for in 2025

As we begin 2025 and set our goals for the new year (realistic or unrealistic), we outline some of the significant English court rulings from 2024 and the key lessons they offer for the year ahead. In 2024, the courts...more

Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP

Delaware Law Update: A Contractual Right to Terminate will be enforced by Delaware Courts

In the context of a contract with hundreds of pages and multiple schedules, exhibits, appendices, and annexes, contractual language can be difficult to reconcile. Multiple provisions can appear to address a certain situation....more

Freiberger Haber LLP

Giving Two Contract Provisions Their Intended Meaning

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Under New York law, written agreements are construed in accordance with the parties’ intent. “The best evidence of what parties to a written agreement intend is what they say in their writing.” As such, “a written agreement...more

Goodwin

Libera nos a LIBOR - Standard Chartered Plc v Guaranty Nominees Limited and Others [2024] EWHC 2605

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In a decision with general importance to financial markets, Standard Chartered Plc v Guaranty Nominees Limited and others [2024] EWHC 2605 represents the first time that the English court has ruled on the issue of which...more

BCLP

Conditions Precedent and Time Bars, Getting Around Them

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When a party fails to comply with a condition precedent, especially if such a provision includes a time limit for the fulfilment of the obligation, it will often advance various arguments to avoid the consequences of...more

Bennett Jones LLP

A Clarified Approach to Exclusion Clauses in Contracts for Sale of Goods

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Exclusion clauses are a common feature of agreements of purchase and sale and other commercial contracts. While often subject to negotiation, parties sometimes proceed with standard form exclusion clauses that may inject...more

Stikeman Elliott LLP

Interpreting Exclusion Clauses in Contracts for the Sale of Goods: Important Guidance from the Supreme Court of Canada

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On May 31, 2024, the Supreme Court of Canada released its highly anticipated decision in Earthco Soil Mixtures Inc. v. Pine Valley Enterprises Inc., 2024 SCC 20 (“Pine Valley”), clarifying how contracting parties can exclude...more

Allen Matkins

If A Contract Creates No Legally Enforceable Rights, Is It A Contract?

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The word "contract" is derived from the Latin word contrahere which means to draw (or drag) together.   The California Civil Code defines a "contract" as "an agreement to do or not to do a certain thing".  Cal. Civ. Code §...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Signature Lines Matter: When a Contract Amendment Is Not Really an Amendment

Construction law is largely a matter of contract law. Yes, there are federal and state statutes that deal with construction issues and, yes, construction cases sometimes involve tort claims, but more often than not,...more

Bennett Jones LLP

How Liquid is Your Letter of Credit?

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Other than cash, a standby letter of credit (LoC) is generally considered the most liquid form of performance security. While beneficiaries generally believe drawing on an LoC should be a relatively simple process, many do...more

Oliva Gibbs LLP

If the Lease Requires Notice, Then Provide Notice: Simple Enough?

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I. Background In the case of Kirkbride v. Antero Res. Corp., the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals is faced with a novel argument on the interpretation of a condition precedent within an oil and gas lease. The case comes to the...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Overview of Three Recent Decisions on the Interpretation of Contractual Clauses

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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

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