Law in 101 words

Lord Ackner in Walford v Miles (1992) said that the reason why an agreement to agree is unenforceable, is that it lacks the necessary certainty. In May v R (1934) an agreement to supply goods at ‘prices to be agreed from time to time’ was held not to be a contract, but it was different in Foley v Classic Coaches (1934), in which one party was to provide petrol at ‘prices to be agreed’. Petrol supply was part of a larger agreement, petrol had been supplied without difficultly for three years and the arbitration clause could cover any failure to agree.

London’s early fire regulations

On 24 July 1212, following a calamitous fire in the city, the mayor Henry fitz Ailwin made regulations, including a prohibition of thatched roofs and a requirement for walls and existing thatched roofs to be plastered, and power to pull down houses that were not rebuilt accordingly within eight days no matter to whom they belong without