Article Abstract:
A recent House of Lords ruling went along with the Court of Appeal's decision in the famous case of Fairburn v Tolaini Brothers Hotels (1975), this time in the case of a dispute between a Mr and Mrs Miles and a Mr and Mrs Walford over the sale of a photographic business. Mr and Mrs Walford claimed that both sides had agreed to continue to negotiate, with the Mileses agreeing not to sell to anyone else, but that this agreement was broken by the Mileses. The Walfords wanted a ruling against the Court of Appeal decision in the earlier case, which said that an agreement to agree was not enforceable, but the House of Lords stated that an agreement to negotiate could not be enforced, as it stopped both parties acting in their own best interests.
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Article Abstract:
The dispute between the Mercers' Company and the New Hampshire Insuranec Company illustrates the need for clarity in the wording of bonds. The Mercers' Company had a contract with builder, Rush and Tompkins which included a bond issued by New Hampshire. Access to the site was delayed and when the builder went into receivership, the insurers claimed the Mercers' had broken the contract by delaying access. The court found the breach was not sufficiently serious to invalidate the bond which was not a guarantee of performance.
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Article Abstract:
English law does not oblige parties in the construction industry to provide information to others. Employers are usually subject to contract provisions to give information to contractors that enable them to do the work required. However, the extent of these obligations is not clear. A House of Lords ruling in the case of doctors under contract to the Health Department of Northern Ireland has implications for other contracts.
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