The Practical Lawyer

Asymmetric jurisdiction clauses are common in international finance agreements. Such clauses will usually require the borrower to bring proceedings in a specified jurisdiction, while allowing the lender to bring proceedings in any jurisdiction.

 The Reporting on Payment Practice and Performance Regs 2017 will require some UK companies to publish, on a government website, how long they take to pay their suppliers.

The CA has confirmed that a bankrupt photographer was not able to purchase his car back from the HP company as a ‘tool of the trade’ (s283 IA 1986). This decision confirms the approach currently taken by most trustees – to allow HP companies to take vehicles and sell them (realising the equity in the agreement, or more likely giving rise to an unsecured debt provable in bankruptcy).

Can an online publication from a non-contracting third party be an actionable misrepresentation? The CA has confirmed it can.

The entitlement to compensation when a flight is cancelled does not apply if the aircraft takes off, but then has to make an unscheduled stop elsewhere. However, if the plane arrives more than three hours late at the final destination there may be an entitlement to compensation for delay. Rodriguez v Air France (CJEU, C-83/10).

Many contracts will exclude liability for ‘consequential loss’. But, does that exclude liability for financial losses caused as a result of physical damage? Usually, the answer will be that it does not, but a recent case shows that the position is not certain (and in particular circumstances it can exclude liability for financial loss).

Many contracts use the phrase ‘close of business’. But, what does that actually mean?

An informal agreement may not show a sufficient intention to establish legal relations. As always, some element of certainty is needed.

The fastest-growing part of the art market is online. Indeed, virtually all the major auction houses now operate online auctions (some are totally online, whereas others merely stream physical auctions). But, the distance selling laws pose major problems for such businesses, giving ‘consumers’ rights that they do not always appreciate they have.

A recent case illustrates the dangers of buying keyword ads on Google in the name of a competitor – especially if that competitor has a trade mark.