The Practical Lawyer

Section 13A Insurance Act 2015 will make it an implied term of every insurance policy that the insurer will pay out within a ‘reasonable’ period of time (which will include a ‘reasonable time’ for the insurer to investigate and assess the claim).

The EU rules on airline compensation for delay have, to all extents and purposes, become strict liability. The lead case is jet2.com [2014] which involved two faulty engine parts in a KLM plane that was due to leave for Quito. The parts failed unexpectedly – but within their normal lifespans – meaning that KLM had to fly in replacement parts causing a 24-hour delay. KLM argued that, for all practical purposes, it was impossible to avoid the technical failure and thus it was outside their ‘actual control’ and ‘an extraordinary circumstance’. But, it was held that while this was an ‘unexpected flight safety shortcoming’ it was not ‘extraordinary’ because it is ‘normal’ for there to be unexpected mechanical failures – and KLM had a duty to maintain the aircraft so it was in ‘actual control’ (even though there was no way it could have foreseen the failures).

Some basic points on the content of a non-disclosure agreement:

 If there is ambiguity in a document, then it may be possible to look at earlier drafts to see which words have been deleted.

 It is common for a contract to contain a liability cap. The idea is to protect the seller or service provider from being sued for much more than the value of the contract.