Marine Trade S.A. v Pioneer Freight Futures Co Ltd BVI [2009] EWHC 2656 (Comm) IntroductionThis case provides the inaugural UK decision on the application of Section 2 (a)(iii) of theISDA Master Agreement (MA) 1992. The High Court would determine two points:(1) the provision was applicable to lawfully suspend payment.(2) the potential for payment made under […]

Enron Australia v TXU Electricity [2003] NSWSC 1169 Introduction Enron v TXU outlined the Australian approach on the application of Section 2 (a)(iii) of the ISDA Master Agreement (MA) 1992. It would determine whether the non-defaulting party bears an obligation to designate an early termination date, thereby obtaining the power to lawfully suspend payments owed […]

The Law Debenture Trust Corporation plc v Ukraine [2023] UKSC 11 Summary This contract law case is steeped in international geopolitics, with direct ties to the 2014 revolution that overturned the government of Viktor Yanukovych, and to the current Russian invasion of Ukraine. Law Debenture Trust applied for summary judgment. The UK Supreme Court rejected […]

Lehman Brothers International (Europe) (in administration) v Assured Guaranty Financial Products Inc. (2023), Index No. 653285/2011 Summary This case now holds the record as the longest-running case to come out of the 2008 Lehman Brothers collapse, having entered the legal system in 2011. It was heard in the Commercial Division of the Supreme Court of […]

Fenchurch Advisory Partners LLP v AA Ltd [2023] EWHC 108 (Comm) Summary This High Court case centred on a dispute over whether a contract was validly formed despite the lack of signed engagement letter. Its significance lies in confirming basic points of law regarding contract formation. Judgment in this case was handed down on 24 […]

Barton & Others V Morris & Another (in place of Gwyn Jones [deceased]) [2023] UKSC 3 Introduction The judgment in the case of Barton v Morris was handed down by the Supreme Court on January 25th, 2023. The main issue the court was asked to answer was: When a seller of the property agrees to […]

Attorney General v Blake & Another [2000] UKHL 45 This is a landmark contract law case that established the possibility of restitutionary damages as an award where ordinary damages are not practical or fail to adequately address the facts. A claimant can have a restitution interest in certain benefits which the defendant has acquired at […]

Sara & Hossein Asset Holdings Ltd v Blacks Outdoor Retail Ltd [2023] UKSC 2 Citations in [square brackets] refer to the judgment, which can be found here. Facts Blacks, the clothing chain, were the tenant of two properties in Liverpool owned by Sara & Hossein Asset Holdings. The two properties were governed by separate leases, […]

Hedley Byrne & Co Ltd v Heller & Partners Ltd [1963] UKHL 4 This landmark case established the principle of pure economic loss in English law. The House of Lords judgment provided that a duty of care arose when pure economic loss was provoked by certain conditions. While the case was in tort, its codification […]