header-logo header-logo

A strict interpretation

05 September 2018 / Sophia Purkis , Leigh Callaway , Leigh Callaway
Issue: 7811 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice
printer mail-detail

Hindsight is a wonderful thing – but irrelevant for interpreting contracts, say Sophia Purkis & Leigh Callaway

  • Bou Simon v BGC Brokers LP: a salient reminder of the strict approach the court will take when deciding whether to imply a term into a contract.

The express written provisions of a contract are not, or at least are not always, the be-all and end-all when determining the terms governing the relationship between contracting parties. Often consideration can and should be given to the specific circumstances of a contract, including pre-contractual representations and/or post-contractual variations. Moreover, it is a well-established tenet of English contract law that terms can be implied into a contract, whether on the basis of usage, custom, the parties’ previous course of dealings, statute, or in order to reflect the intention of the parties at the time the contract was made.

It is in respect of this last category that the recent Court of Appeal decision in Bou Simon v BGC Brokers LP [2018] EWCA 1525 (Civ),

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
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
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
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
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