Earlier this year, the UK Court of Appeal was called on to consider an important question dealing with concurrent liability in contract and tort. The facts in Robinson v. Jones involved the defective construction of a house by a builder, which caused economic loss to the purchaser. However, the contractual remedy was barred by limitation. As a result, the purchaser sought to argue that he had a...
To Indemnify or Not?
One of the key considerations while drafting or negotiating a contract is how to deal with consequences of violation of the contract by one of the parties. There are two possibilities. One is a simple claim for breach of contract. The other is the inclusion of a specific clause for indemnification. Of the two, the use of the indemnification clause has gained popularity, especially in large...
The Supreme Court in BSNL v Reliance: Penalty and Liquidated Damages
The complexity of the distinction between penalties and liquidated damages in English law is amply borne out by the fact that even McGregor’s remarkably concise and insightful account is forced to begin with a seventeenth century statute (18th edition, ¶¶13.001 onwards). For an elaborate account of the law, interested readers may refer to Chitty on Contracts (30th edition, ¶ 26-010 onwards)...
Incorporation of Contractual Terms by Reference
Last week, an interesting issue of contractual interpretation fell for the consideration of the United Kingdom Court of Appeals in Malone v. British Airways, [2010] EWCA Civ 1225. The Court was called on to decide circumstances in which terms may be incorporated into a contract from other related agreements or documents, leading it to some interesting conclusions. In the wake of the economic...
“Subject to contract” agreements and Good Faith
On the issue of when a contract is formed in the case of “subject to contract” agreements, the leading Indian contract law textbook notes that what needs to be determined is, “… whether the formal document is of such a nature that it was the very condition of the contract or whether it was commemorative of the evidence on the point…” (Pollock & Mulla, 12th edn., page...
Confidentiality = Non-compete?
In India, there is a fair amount of debate regarding the enforceability of non-compete agreements given Section 27 of the Contract Act that invalidates contracts in restraint of trade. Recent developments in California may throw some further light on the issue. Oracle’s appointment of former HP-CEO Mark Hurd has given rise to litigation by HP. This report in the Wall Street Journal notes that...
“Subject to” Contracts and Agreements “Not Completed”
“The moral of the story is to agree first and start work later.” So observed Lord Clarke recently, in delivering the unanimous judgment of the United Kingdom Supreme Court in RTS Flexible Systems [“RTS”] v. Molkerei Alois Muller Gmbh [“Muller”]. The judgment considers several questions of law that are of significance to long-term commercial contracts, particularly when there is doubt as to...
NALSAR Student Law Review: New Issue
The latest issue of the NALSAR Student Law Review (which is available online) carries a number of articles that may be relevant to readers of this Blog. Here is a list of those: – Regulation and Responsibility of Credit Rating Agencies vis-a-vis the Current Economic Crisis- A Comparative Analysis – Rethinking the Linkages Between Foreign Direct Investment and Development: A Third...
The “right” of retention
It is generally accepted that a defendant in an action for damages cannot exercise the right of “set-off” on the basis of a mere “claim”, which has not crystallised. For example, while the law permits a defendant to set off debts owed to him by the plaintiff against a successful claim in court, he cannot normally resist the plaintiff’s case on the basis that litigation is pending in other courts...
Ostensible Authority and Indoor Management: Possible Implications of MRF v. Parrikar
In MRF Ltd. v. Manohar Parrikar (Civil Appeals No. 4219 and 4220 of 2010, decided on May 3, 2010), the Supreme Court of India highlighted some aspects of the operation of the indoor management rule (or the rule in Turquand’s case). While the issue before the Court was a matter of public law and reference was made to indoor management only as an analogy, the decision is noteworthy as it is perhaps...
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