Category: Case Reviews
SFM v Christ the King College (2021) – A lesson in the counter-restitution principle
School Facility Management Ltd & Others v The Governing Body of Christ the King College [2021] EWCA Civ 1053 Summary The governing body of a school, whose contract with a construction company was previously found to be ultra vires and void, unsuccessfully appealed to claim restitution for overpayments on a school building. The case and […]
MUR v RTI (2022) – The rocky shores of force majeure clauses and non-contractual performance
MUR Shipping BV v RTI Ltd [2022] EWCA Civ 1406 Case handed down in the Court of Appeal on 27th October 2022. The judgement can be found here. Route through the courts Facts MUR are a Dutch shipping company. RTI are a chartering company that form part of a Russian-owned group. The contract of affreightment […]
Morgan Grenfell v Welwyn Hatfield (1995) – No throw of the dice on swaps as wagering contracts
Morgan Grenfell & Co Ltd v Welwyn Hatfield District Council [1995] 1 All ER 1 Summary In an important case for capacity in derivatives law, an interest rate swap agreement between a district council and bank was found not to be a wagering contract under English law. This was an important test case for UK […]
MonSolar v Woden Park (2021) – Casting sunlight on absurd formulae
MonSolar IQ Ltd v Woden Park Ltd [2021] EWCA Civ 961 Summary An appeal by a Landlord in the Court of Appeal was dismissed, on the grounds that an indexation clause in a rent review – when read literally – produced an “arbitrary and irrational” result, did not have an intentional exponential increase due to […]
Lomas v Firth Rixson (2012) – Section 2(a)(iii) provisions clarified as…the opposite of NY law
Lomas & Others v JFB Firth Rixson Inc & Others [2012] EWCA Civ 419 Summary Four appeals were jointly heard in a single hearing concerning Events of Default under 1992 ISDA Master Agreements between Lomas and four other differing parties, regarding the efficacy of conditions in the standard Master Agreement. The case offered definitive answers […]
Lehman v National Power Corporation (2018) – No second bite of this calculation cherry
Lehman Brothers Special Financing Inc v National Power Corporation & Another [2018] EWHC 487 (Comm) (12 March 2018) Summary This case, heard in the High Court, concerned good faith in the exercise of discretion when calculating a close-out amount under the 1992 ISDA Master Agreement. There was a disparity between the two parties over what […]
Kleinwort Benson v Birmingham (1996) – A counterparty’s good hedging is not a defence against paying them
Kleinwort Benson Ltd v Birmingham City Council [1996] 4 All ER 733 Summary In an unjust enrichment case, there was no defence of passing on available for a local authority to use against an unjust enrichment claim, showing to what extent enrichment of the defendant must be at the expense of the claimant. The judgment […]
Haugesund v DEPFA (2010) – From Hammersmith to Haugesund, local authority swaps are still ultra vires
Haugesund Kommune & Another v DEPFA ACS Bank & Another [2010] EWCA Civ 579 3103 (Comm) Summary Norwegian municipalities, Haugesund and Narvik Kommunes, had no change of position defence to restitution claims by a bank, DEPFA ACS Bank, with whom they had entered swap contracts with that were later found to be ultra vires and […]
Hadley v Baxendale (1854) – When the loss is not just ‘run of the mill’
Hadley & Another v Baxendale & Others (1854) 9 Ex 341 This case concerns remoteness of losses – a line must be drawn dictating which losses are recoverable and which are not. There are two aspects – an objective, ‘normal’ possibility of loss, and a subjective, ‘known’ possibility of loss. If the actual loss suffered […]
Dunlop v Selfridge (1915) – Deflating third party claims
Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co. v Selfridge & Co. [1915] UKHL 1 ([1915] AC 847) This case provided a statement of the fundamentals of privity of contract – no person can sue or be sued on a contract unless they are a party to it. Established in common law, this has been overturned by the Contracts […]