header-logo header-logo

24 March 2023
Issue: 8018 / Categories: Legal News , Commercial , Property
printer mail-detail

NLJ this week: Unjust enrichment & the problem with oral agreements

115857
The Supreme Court decision in Barton v Morris is a landmark case on the interaction between the law of unjust enrichment and the law of contract. 

In this week’s NLJ, Sarah Allan, partner, and Chris Ward, knowledge lawyer, at Pennington Manches Cooper, write that the story behind the case ‘is a paradigm of how things ought not to be done’.

The dispute centred on an oral agreement for one party to act as broker in a commercial property sale. Allan and Ward write: ‘There being no written contract, Judge Pearce had to rely on witness evidence to determine what the parties had agreed some five years prior to the High Court hearing in June 2018.’

The authors look at the case and its implications in detail here.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Slater Heelis—Helen Marsh

Slater Heelis—Helen Marsh

Commercial property team expands in Manchester with partner appointment

mfg Solicitors—Tracy Ashby

mfg Solicitors—Tracy Ashby

Birmingham partner returns to private client practice

No5 Barristers’ Chambers—Ian Tullett, Daniel Griffiths & Marc Forrest-Thomas

No5 Barristers’ Chambers—Ian Tullett, Daniel Griffiths & Marc Forrest-Thomas

Set introduces C-suite leadership team to support continued growth

NEWS
SRM Recruitment has been announced as the headline sponsor of the Law Society RFC Festival of Sport 2026, which will take place on 20 September at Richmond Athletic Association. The specialist legal search firm joins the event as organisers prepare to welcome more than 110 teams across five sports, including rugby sevens, netball and five-a-side football
The civil justice landscape could be heading for a shake-up, with reform of the Solicitors Act 1974 gathering pace
Global mobility is transforming family law, creating new challenges around jurisdiction, assets and child arrangements
Employers are being urged to prepare now for far-reaching employment law changes taking effect in January 2027
As family structures evolve, the law may face difficult questions about inheritance rights for those in polyamorous relationships
back-to-top-scroll