header-logo header-logo

Some clarity on contracts

10 August 2017 / Nikki Edwards
Issue: 7759 / Categories: Features , Commercial
printer mail-detail

A recent Supreme Court case offers some valuable guidance on contractual interpretation, as Nikki Edwards explains

  • Wood v Capita Insurance Services Ltd clarifies the courts’ approach to contractual interpretation

Earlier this year the Supreme Court handed down judgment in Wood v Capita Insurance Services Ltd [2017] UKSC 24, [2017] All ER (D) 182 (Mar) a case which clarified the approach of the English courts to contractual interpretation and emphasised that the recent history of the common law of contractual interpretation is one of continuity rather than change. This article considers the perceived inconsistency prior to Wood and the guidance for the legal profession which was confirmed in this case.

The need for clarification

Wood concerned the interpretation of an indemnity clause in a sale and purchase agreement. The High Court decided the preliminary issue of the interpretation of the indemnity clause in favour of the appellant. This decision was overturned by the Court of Appeal.

In the Supreme Court, the appellant sought to argue that the Court of Appeal had fallen into

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve reports on Haynes v Thomson, the first judicial application of the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling in a discrimination claim, in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll