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06 October 2017 / Roderick Ramage
Issue: 7764 / Categories: Features , Profession
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Law in 101 words

Snippets from The Reduced Law Dictionary, by Roderick Ramage

Agreement to agree

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 exception.

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

WSP Solicitors—David Ashcroft & Jessica O’Shea

WSP Solicitors—David Ashcroft & Jessica O’Shea

Commercial property and child law teams expand with senior hires

Duxton Hill Chambers—Lucas Bastin KC & Joshua Hiew

Duxton Hill Chambers—Lucas Bastin KC & Joshua Hiew

Set expands London and Singapore offering with senior international disputes hires

Gilson Gray—Gregor Duthie & Stephen Forsyth

Gilson Gray—Gregor Duthie & Stephen Forsyth

Firm strengthens real estate and litigation teams with partner promotions

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The House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026 marks a constitutional watershed by severing the centuries-old link between hereditary titles and automatic membership of the upper chamber
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