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Breach

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Arbitration and Contract Law

Part of the book series: Ius Gentium: Comparative Perspectives on Law and Justice ((IUSGENT,volume 54))

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Abstract

The rules concerning breach are fundamental but complex. This is a topic which requires careful analysis because one party’s assertion that his conduct was a legitimate response to the other’s default might in fact misfire if the tribunal concludes that there was no default, or at least an insufficiently serious default. English law classifies obligations as (i) terms which invariably permit termination if breached (conditions); or (ii) terms which potentially, but not necessarily, allow termination if breached (intermediate terms); or (iii) minor terms breach of which does not justify termination, and which instead merely give rise to the liability to pay damages (warranties). There are also subtleties concerning anticipatory breach, renunciation, repudiation, and the process of bringing the contract to an end by virtue of breach.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Neil H Andrews, MA Clarke, AM Tettenborn, G Virgo, Contractual Duties: Performance, Breach, Termination and Remedies (London, 2012) (breach and performance section by Neil Andrews), 5–001 ff; see also Q Liu, Anticipatory Breach (Hart, Oxford, 2011); JE Stannard and D Capper, Termination for Breach of Contract (Oxford University Press, 2014). (From an Australian perspective, JW Carter, Carter’s Breach of Contract (Hart, Oxford, 2012), reviewed by Neil Andrews [2013] CLJ 214–7).

  2. 2.

    K Lewison, Interpretation of Contracts (6th edn, London, 2015), chapter 13; E McKendrick (ed), Force Majeure and Frustration of Contract (2nd edn, London, 1995); G McMeel, The Construction of Contracts: Interpretation, Implication and Rectification (2nd edn, Oxford University Press, 2011), 22.35 ff; GH Treitel, Frustration and Force Majeure (3rd edn, London, 2014); important cases include: Tennants (Lancashire) Ltdv. CS Wilson & Co Ltd[1917] AC 495, HL; Tandrin Aviation Holdings Ltdv. Aero ToyStore LLC[2010] EWHC 40 (Comm); [2010] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 668 at [40], generally on this topic, [38] to [51], per Hamblen J; Great Elephant Corpn v. Trafigura Beheer BV (‘The Crudesky’) [2013] EWCA Civ 905; [2013] 2 All ER (Comm) 992; [2014] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 1.

  3. 3.

    Neil H Andrews, MA Clarke, AM Tettenborn, G Virgo, Contractual Duties: Performance, Breach, Termination and Remedies (London, 2012) (breach and performance section by Neil Andrews), chapter 5.

  4. 4.

    Neil H Andrews, MA Clarke, AM Tettenborn, G Virgo, Contractual Duties: Performance, Breach, Termination and Remedies (London, 2012) (breach and performance section by Neil Andrews), chapters 5 to 8, and chapter 13.

  5. 5.

    Neil H Andrews, MA Clarke, AM Tettenborn, G Virgo, Contractual Duties: Performance, Breach, Termination and Remedies (London, 2012) (breach and performance section by Neil Andrews), chapter 6.

  6. 6.

    [1979] AC 757, 778–9, HL.

  7. 7.

    (1874) LR 9 CP 208, 213, per Lord Coleridge CJ (Court of Common Pleas); cited by Earl of Selborne LC in Mersey Steel and Iron Co (Limited) v. Naylor, Benzon & Co (1883–84) L.R 9 App Cas 434, 438–9, HL; Lord Salmon collected various formualtions of the test in Woodar Investment Development Ltd v. Wimpey Construction UK Ltd [1980] 1 WLR 277, 287–8, HL.

  8. 8.

    Endorsed in Ampurius Nu Homes Holdings Ltd v. Telford Homes (Creekside) Ltd [2013] EWCA Civ 577; [2013] 4 All ER 377, at [70].

  9. 9.

    Also endorsed in Ampurius case, see preceding note.

  10. 10.

    Neil H Andrews, MA Clarke, AM Tettenborn, G Virgo, Contractual Duties: Performance, Breach, Termination and Remedies (London, 2012) (breach and performance section by Neil Andrews), chapter 8.

  11. 11.

    Neil H Andrews, MA Clarke, AM Tettenborn, G Virgo, Contractual Duties: Performance, Breach, Termination and Remedies (London, 2012) (breach and performance section by Neil Andrews), 5–023.

  12. 12.

    ibid, 6–068 ff.

  13. 13.

    [1979] AC 757, HL.

  14. 14.

    Dalkia Utilities Services plc v. Celtech International Ltd [2006] EWHC 63 (Comm); [2006] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 599, at [148], per Christopher Clarke J; Gulf Agri Trade FZCO v. Aston Agro Industrial AG [2008] EWHC 1252 (Comm); [2009] 1 All ER (Comm) 991; [2008] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 376, at [43], per Aikens J.

  15. 15.

    [1980] 1 WLR 277, HL (but time seldom permits this to occur: James Shaffer Ld. v. Findlay Durham & Brodie [1953] 1 WLR 106, 118, CA, per Singleton LJ).

  16. 16.

    [1996] 1 WLR 270, 277, PC (Lord Woolf).

  17. 17.

    [2010] EWCA Civ 1168; [2011] 2 All ER (Comm) 223, generally at [61] to [65], notably, at [65] sub-para (4); approved in Oates v. Hooper [2010] EWCA Civ 1346, [2010] N.P.C. 119 and Samarenko v. Dawn Hill House Ltd [2011] EWCA Civ 1445; [2013] Ch 36.

  18. 18.

    Force India Formula One Team Ltd v. Etihad Airways PJSC [2010] EWCA Civ 1051; [2011] ETLR 10, at [116]; Tele2 International Card Company SA v. Post Office Ltd [2009] EWCA Civ 9, at [30] n 17, per Aikens J, noting Boston Deep Sea and Ice Co v. Ansell (1888) 39 Ch D 339, 364, CA, per Bowen LJ; British and Benningtons Ltd v. NorthWestern Cahar Tea Co Ltd [1923] AC 48, 71–72, HL, per Lord Sumner; and see ‘The Mihalis Angelos’ [1971] 1 QB 164, 193, 195, CA.

  19. 19.

    Neil H Andrews, MA Clarke, AM Tettenborn, G Virgo, Contractual Duties: Performance, Breach, Termination and Remedies (London, 2012) (breach and performance section by Neil Andrews), 8–007 ff.

  20. 20.

    Neil H Andrews, MA Clarke, AM Tettenborn, G Virgo, Contractual Duties: Performance, Breach, Termination and Remedies (London, 2012) (breach and performance section by Neil Andrews), chapter 7; Q Liu, Anticipatory Breach (Hart, Oxford, 2011).

  21. 21.

    M Mustill, Anticipatory Breach: Butterworths Lectures 1989–90 (London, 1990) (and (2008) 124 LQR 569, at 576 ff); JC Smith in E Lomnicka and CJG Morse (eds), Contemporary Issues in Commercial Law: Essays in Honour of AG Guest (1994), 175.

  22. 22.

    Fercometal SARL v. Mediterranean Shipping Co SA (‘The Simona’) [1989] AC 788, 797–805, HL.

  23. 23.

    (1853) 2 E & B 678; 22 LJ (QB) 455.

  24. 24.

    (1872) LR 7 Ex 111.

  25. 25.

    [1957] 2 QB 401, 436–8 (not disturbed on appeal on this point: [1957] 1 WLR 979, CA and [1958] 2 QB 254, CA); MJ Mustill, Anticipatory Breach: Butterworths Lectures 1989–90 (1990), 69 ff; MJ Mustill (2008) 124 LQR 569, 580 n 23 notes the galaxy of commercial talent employed in arguing this case.

  26. 26.

    [2014] EWHC 885 (Comm), at [18] (see also [17]).

  27. 27.

    [1993] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 360, Saville J; similarly Continental Contractors Ltd and Ernest Beck & Co Ltd v. Medway Oil & Storage Co Ltd (1926) 25 Lloyd’s Rep 288---suppliers of kerosene had not ‘wholly and finally disabled’ themselves, even though they had encountered difficulties in procuring a supply; the Toepfer case and other authorities were considered by Proudman J in Ridgewood Properties Group Ltd v. Valero Energy Ltd [2013] EWHC 98 (Ch); [2013] Ch 525, at [30], [31], [107], considering Synge v. Synge [1894] 1 QB 466; Ogdens Ltd v. Nelson [1905] AC 109; Fratelli Sorrentino v. Buerger [1915] 1 KB 307; Omnium d’Enterprises v. Sutherland [1919] 1 KB 618, CA.

  28. 28.

    [1993] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 360, Saville J.

  29. 29.

    [2007] UKHL 12, [2007] 2 AC 353; noted Lord Mustill (2008) 124 LQR 569; J Morgan [2007] CLJ 263; C Nicholls (2008) JBL 91; B Coote (2007) 123 LQR 503; Sir Bernard Rix, in M Andenas and D Fairgrieve (eds), Tom Bingham and the Transformation of the Law: A Liber Amicorum (Oxford University Press, 2009), 679–83.

  30. 30.

    Neil H Andrews, MA Clarke, AM Tettenborn, G Virgo, Contractual Duties: Performance, Breach, Termination and Remedies (London, 2012) (breach and performance section by Neil Andrews), 7–079 ff.

  31. 31.

    Neil H Andrews, MA Clarke, AM Tettenborn, G Virgo, Contractual Duties: Performance, Breach, Termination and Remedies (London, 2012) (breach and performance section by Neil Andrews), 7–022, 7–023.

  32. 32.

    [2007] EWHC 1330 (Ch); [2007] 3 EGLR 101; [2007] 24 EG 169 (CS); [2007] NPC 71.

  33. 33.

    ibid, at [142].

  34. 34.

    ibid, at [79] to [83].

  35. 35.

    clause 10.

  36. 36.

    This literature antedates the Consumer Rights Act 2015; Neil H Andrews, MA Clarke, AM Tettenborn, G Virgo, Contractual Duties: Performance, Breach, Termination and Remedies (London, 2012) (breach and performance section by Neil Andrews), 5–015 ff.

  37. 37.

    137 LT 57; [1927] All ER 712, 714; 43 TLR 260.

  38. 38.

    [1938] 2 All ER 788, 792.

  39. 39.

    Urban 1 (Blonk Street) Ltd v. Ayres [2013] EWCA Civ 816 [2014] 1 WLR 756, at [49], per Sir Terence Etherton C (citing Hick v. Raymond & Reid [1893] AC 22, 32–33, HL, per Lord Watson, and the fuller discussion by Maurice Kay LJ in Peregrine Systems Ltd v. Steria Ltd [2005] EWCA Civ 239; [2005] Info TLR 294, at [15], noting Judge Richard Seymour QC in Astea (UK) Ltd v. Time Group Ltd [2003] EWHC 725 (TCC), at [144]).

  40. 40.

    [1995] 2 AC 145, HL.

  41. 41.

    McGregor on Damages (19th edn, 2014), chapter 12; Neil H Andrews, MA Clarke, AM Tettenborn, G Virgo, Contractual Duties: Performance, Breach, Termination and Remedies (London, 2012) (breach and performance section by Neil Andrews), 5–005.

  42. 42.

    Neil H Andrews, MA Clarke, AM Tettenborn, G Virgo, Contractual Duties: Performance, Breach, Termination and Remedies (London, 2012) (breach and performance section by Neil Andrews), chapter 10 to 14.

  43. 43.

    ibid, chapter 13.

  44. 44.

    ibid, chapter 15.

  45. 45.

    ibid, chapter 13.

  46. 46.

    Photo Production case [1980] AC 827, HL.

  47. 47.

    This follows a fortiori from Mackender v. Feldia AG [1967] 2 QB 590, CA (rescission for non-disclosure under an insurance contract does not wipe out a (i) jurisdiction and (ii) a choice of law clause: especially, Diplock LJ at 603–4).

  48. 48.

    See Mackender case, preceding note; generally, Port Jackson Stevedoring Pty v. Salmond & Spraggon (Australia) Pty (‘The New York Star’) [1981] 1 WLR 138, 145, PC.

  49. 49.

    Cable & Wireless plc v. IBM United Kingdom Ltd [2002] 2 All ER (Comm) 1041, Colman J; Sulamerica Cia Nacional de Seguros SA v. Enesa Engenharia SA [2012] EWCA Civ 638; [2013] 1 WLR 102.

  50. 50.

    Heyman v. Darwins Ltd [1942] AC 356, 374, HL.

  51. 51.

    Port Jackson Stevedoring Pty v. Salmond & Spraggon (Australia) Pty, ‘The New York Star’ [1981] 1 WLR 138, 145, PC, per Lord Wilberforce.

  52. 52.

    Duffen v. FRA BO Spa (No 2) [2000] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 180 (Judge Hallgarten QC, Central County Court, London).

  53. 53.

    Harbinger UK Ltd v. GE Information Services Ltd [2000] 1 All ER (Comm) 166 (severable clause, surviving termination of main contract, that company ‘in perpetuity’ would provide support and maintenance of software supplied to a customer; the customer would not everlastingly be prepared to use this soft-ware; so long as it did, the supplier’s obligation would endure).

  54. 54.

    Yasuda Fire & Marine Insurance Co of Europe Ltd v. Orion Marine Insurance Underwriting Agency Ltd [1995] QB 174, Colman J.

  55. 55.

    General Billposting Co Ltd v. Atkinson [1909] AC 118, HL (for Commonwealth cases, F Dawson, (2013) 129 LQR 508–513).

  56. 56.

    Group Lotus plc v. 1Malaysia Racing Team SDN BHD [2011] EWHC 1366 (Ch), at [364] to [371], per Peter Smith J.

  57. 57.

    Campbell v. Frisbee [2002] EWCA Civ 1374; [2003] ICR 141, at [22], per Lord Phillips.

  58. 58.

    [2012] UKSC 63; [2013] 1 AC 523, at [68] (see F Dawson, (2013) 129 LQR 508–513 for Commonwealth cases).

  59. 59.

    [2002] EWCA Civ 1374; [2003] ICR 141, at [22].

  60. 60.

    Friends Provident Life & Pensions Ltd v. Sirius International Insurance Corp. [2005] EWCA Civ 601; [2005] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 517, at [31]; Neil H Andrews, MA Clarke, AM Tettenborn, G Virgo, Contractual Duties: Performance, Breach, Termination and Remedies (London, 2012) (breach and performance section by Neil Andrews), 13–011.

  61. 61.

    Neil H Andrews, MA Clarke, AM Tettenborn, G Virgo, Contractual Duties: Performance, Breach, Termination and Remedies (London, 2012) (breach and performance section by Neil Andrews), 5–026.

  62. 62.

    ibid), chapters 10 to 12; K Lewison, Interpretation of Contracts (6th edn, London, 2015), 16.10.

  63. 63.

    Neil H Andrews, MA Clarke, AM Tettenborn, G Virgo, Contractual Duties: Performance, Breach, Termination and Remedies (London, 2012) (breach and performance section by Neil Andrews), 10–009 ff; K Lewison, Interpretation of Contracts (6th edn, London, 2015), 16.12.

  64. 64.

    [1974] AC 235, HL; noted by JH Baker, [1973] CLJ 196, R Brownsword, (1974) 37 MLR 104, and FA Mann, (1973) 89 LQR 464; see also Beatson LJ’s comments in Tullow Uganda Ltdv. Heritage Oil and Gas​[2014] EWCA Civ 1048; [2014] 2 CLC 61, at [33] ff.

  65. 65.

    The Times, 26 July 2000; (2001) 3 LGLR 4, CA; S Whittaker, ‘Termination Clauses’, in AS Burrows and E Peel (eds), Contract Terms (Oxford University Press, 2007), chapter 13, at 273–83; for Australian case law, JW Carter, Carter’s Breach of Contract (Hart, Oxford, 2012), 5.04 ff.

  66. 66.

    [2008] EWHC 1330 (Comm); [2008] 2 All ER (Comm) 784; [2008] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 246.

  67. 67.

    Neil H Andrews, MA Clarke, AM Tettenborn, G Virgo, Contractual Duties: Performance, Breach, Termination and Remedies (London, 2012) (breach and performance section by Neil Andrews), 10–056.

  68. 68.

    Section 30(2A) of the 1979 Act adopts a similar approach where goods delivered are less than, or greater than, the quantity contracted for, but this quantitative deviation is ‘so slight that it would be unreasonable’ for the buyer to reject the goods; for comparative analysis (comparing the UN ‘Vienna’ Convention on the International Sale of Goods, ‘CISG’), D Saidov, in L DiMatteo, Q Zhou, S Saintier, K Rowley (eds), Commercial Contract Law: Transatlantic Perspectives (Cambridge University Press, 2014), chapter 18.

  69. 69.

    On this last factor, see section 15A(2) of the Sale of Goods Act 1979.

  70. 70.

    ibid, section 15A(3).

  71. 71.

    ibid, section 15A(2).

  72. 72.

    [1921] 2 KB 519, CA.

  73. 73.

    ibid, at 524.

  74. 74.

    Neil H Andrews, MA Clarke, AM Tettenborn, G Virgo, Contractual Duties: Performance, Breach, Termination and Remedies (London, 2012) (breach and performance section by Neil Andrews), chapter 12; J.E. Stannard, Delay in the Performance of Contractual Obligations (Oxford University Press, 2007); K Lewison, Interpretation of Contracts (6th edn, London, 2015), 15.12 ff; G McMeel, The Construction of Contracts: Interpretation, Implication and Rectification (2nd edn, Oxford University Press, 2011), chapter 26.

  75. 75.

    Neil H Andrews, MA Clarke, AM Tettenborn, G Virgo, Contractual Duties: Performance, Breach, Termination and Remedies (London, 2012) (breach and performance section by Neil Andrews), 10–068 ff.

  76. 76.

    Robert Walker LJ in On Demand plc v. Gerson plc [2001] 1 WLR 155, 163G–172, CA (reversed on another basis at [2003] 1 AC 368, HL); L Gullifer, in AS Burrows and E Peel (eds), Commercial Remedies: Current Issues and Problems (Oxford University Press, 2003), 191, at 212 ff.

  77. 77.

    Nutting v. Baldwin [1995] 1 WLR 201, 209, per Rattee J.

  78. 78.

    UK Housing Alliance (North West) Ltd v. Francis [2010] EWCA Civ 117; [2010] 3 All ER 519, at [14], per Longmore LJ (loss of contingent right to a payment; noted by C Conte, (2010) 126 LQR 529–34).

  79. 79.

    Sport Internationals Bussum BV v. Inter-Footwear Ltd [1984] 1 WLR 776, HL; considered in Celestial Aviation 1 Ltd v. Paramount Airways Private Ltd [2010] EWHC 185 (Comm); [2010] 1 CLC 15, Hamblen J; noted by L Aitken, (2010) 126 LQR 505–7; see also UK Housing Alliance (North West) Ltd v. Francis [2010] EWCA Civ 117; [2010] 3 All ER 519, at [14]; noted by C Conte, (2010) 126 LQR 529–34.

  80. 80.

    ‘The Scraptrade’ [1983] 2 AC 694, HL.

  81. 81.

    Union Eagle Ltd v. Golden Achievement Ltd [1997] AC 514, 520, PC.

  82. 82.

    ibid.

  83. 83.

    Neil H Andrews, MA Clarke, AM Tettenborn, G Virgo, Contractual Duties: Performance, Breach, Termination and Remedies (London, 2012) (breach and performance section by Neil Andrews), chapter 12.

  84. 84.

    [1962] 2 QB 1, CA; JE Stannard and D Capper, Termination for Breach of Contract (Oxford University Press, 2014), chapter 6; D Nolan, in C Mitchell and P Mitchell (eds), Landmark Cases in the Law of Contract (Hart, Oxford, 2008), 269 ff; and, for Lord Diplock’s own account of this decision, see ‘The Law of Contract in the Eighties’ (1981) 15 University of British Columbia Law Review 371.

  85. 85.

    [1974] AC 235, 262 F, HL: ‘I do not think this was anything new.’

  86. 86.

    ‘The Hansa Nord’ [1976] 1 QB 44, 60, CA.

  87. 87.

    [1962] 2 QB 1, at 69–70, CA.

  88. 88.

    [1962] 2 QB 1, 64.

  89. 89.

    Ampurius Nu Homes Holdings Ltd v. Telford Homes (Creekside) Ltd [2013] EWCA Civ 577; [2013] 4 All ER 377, at [38] to [50], per Lewison LJ; Urban 1 (Blonk Street) Ltd v. Ayres [2013] EWCA Civ 816 [2014] 1 WLR 756, at [57], per Etherton C.

  90. 90.

    [2007] HCA 61; (2007) 82 ALJR 345; (2008) 241 ALR 88, H Ct Aust (Gleeson CJ, Gummow, Heydon, Crennan JJ), at [52].

  91. 91.

    ibid, at [54] and [71].

  92. 92.

    ‘The Hansa Nord’ [1976] QB 44, CA, noted by A Weir, [1976] CLJ 33.

  93. 93.

    Neil Andrews, Contract Law (2nd edn, Cambridge University Press, 2015), 17.25 ff; Neil H Andrews, MA Clarke, AM Tettenborn, G Virgo, Contractual Duties: Performance, Breach, Termination and Remedies (London, 2012) (breach and performance section by Neil Andrews), chapter 9; K Lewison, Interpretation of Contracts (6th edn, London, 2015), 17.15 to 17.17; G McMeel, The Construction of Contracts: Interpretation, Implication and Rectification (2nd edn, Oxford University Press, 2011), 23.02 ff; E Peel, ‘The Termination Paradox’ [2013] LMCLQ 519–543; J Randall, ‘Express Termination Clauses’ [2014] CLJ 113–141; R Hooley, ‘Express Termination Clauses’, in G Virgo and S Worthington (eds), Commercial Remedies: Resolving Controversies (Cambridge University Press, 2016); JE Stannard and D Capper, Termination for Breach of Contract (Oxford University Press, 2014), chapter 8; S Whittaker, ‘Termination Clauses’, in AS Burrows and E Peel (eds), Contract Terms (Oxford University Press, 2007), chapter 13 (discussion of many related decisions concerning ‘material breach’ and similar contract drafting).

  94. 94.

    Geys v. Société Générale [2012] UKSC 63; [2013] 1 AC 523, at [52], per Baroness Hale.

  95. 95.

    [1978] 1 WLR 1387, CA.

  96. 96.

    [2009] EWHC 3116 (Comm); 132 Con LR 177, at [33], per Christopher Clarke J).

  97. 97.

    Kuwait Rocks Co v. AMN Bulkcarriers Inc (‘The Astra’) [2013] EWHC 865 (Comm); [2013] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 69, Flaux J; noted J Shirley (2013) 130 LQR 185–188 (charterer’s duty to pay hire punctually a condition; so expressed in relevant clause).

  98. 98.

    The Times, 26 July 2000; (2001) 3 LGLR 4, CA; S Whittaker, ‘Termination Clauses’, in AS Burrows and E Peel (eds), Contract Terms (Oxford University Press, 2007), chapter 13, at 273–83; for Australian case law, JW Carter, Carter’s Breach of Contract (Hart, Oxford, 2012), 5.04 ff.

  99. 99.

    The Times, 26 July 2000; (2001) 3 LGLR 4, CA, at [22], per Hale LJ.

  100. 100.

    Adopting Antaios Compania Naviera SA v. Salen Rederierna AB [1985] AC 191, 200–1, HL (clause entitling owner to terminate the charterparty for ‘any’ breach did not cover minor breach, but only a repudiatory breach); on which Multi-Link Leisure v. North Lanarkshire [2010] UKSC 47; [2011] 1 All ER 175, at [21], per Lord Hope.

  101. 101.

    The Times, 26 July 2000; (2001) 3 LGLR 4, CA, at [17], per Hale LJ.

  102. 102.

    Dominion Corporate Trustees Ltd v. Debenhams Properties Ltd [2010] EWHC 1193 (Ch); [2010] NPC 63, at [32], per Kitchin J (‘a multitude of obligations, many of which are of minor importance and which can be broken in many different ways’).

  103. 103.

    [1985] AC 191, 201, HL.

  104. 104.

    Neil Andrews, Contract Law (2nd edn, Cambridge University Press, 2015), 17.30 and on ‘remediable breach’, 17.31; Neil H Andrews, MA Clarke, AM Tettenborn, G Virgo, Contractual Duties: Performance, Breach, Termination and Remedies (London, 2012) (breach and performance section by Neil Andrews), 9–018 ff; G McMeel, The Construction of Contracts: Interpretation, Implication and Rectification (2nd edn, Oxford University Press, 2011), 23.25.

  105. 105.

    Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust v. Compass Group UK and Ireland Ltd [2013] EWCA Civ 200 [2013] BLR 265 at [126], per Jackson LJ.

  106. 106.

    [1974] AC 235, 248–9, HL (clause 11(a)(i)).

  107. 107.

    See further N Andrews, MA Clarke, AM Tettenborn, G Virgo, Contractual Duties: Performance, Breach, Termination and Remedies (London, 2012) (breach and performance section by N Andrews), 9–029 ff.

  108. 108.

    [2010] EWCA Civ 1051; [2011] ETLR 10, at [100] to [109].

  109. 109.

    ibid, at [108]: where, per Rix LJ, ‘the breach or breaches are repeated, cumulative, continuing and repudiatory.’

  110. 110.

    [2010] EWCA Civ 1051; [2011] ETLR 10, at [108].

  111. 111.

    [1974] AC 235, 249–250, HL.

  112. 112.

    [1974] AC 235, 249–250, 265, 271, HL (as noted in the Force India case, [2010] EWCA Civ 1051; [2011] ETLR 10, at [104] to [107]).

  113. 113.

    Neil H Andrews, MA Clarke, AM Tettenborn, G Virgo, Contractual Duties: Performance, Breach, Termination and Remedies (London, 2012) (breach and performance section by Neil Andrews), 14–001 ff.

  114. 114.

    Neil H Andrews, MA Clarke, AM Tettenborn, G Virgo, Contractual Duties: Performance, Breach, Termination and Remedies (London, 2012) (breach and performance section by Neil Andrews), 14–037 ff.

  115. 115.

    Vitol SA v. Norelf Ltd (‘The Santa Clara’) [1996] AC 800, 810–11, per Lord Steyn, noted by S Hedley, [1996] CLJ 430–2.

  116. 116.

    ibid, at 811, per Lord Steyn; similarly, Force India Formula One Team Ltd v. Etihad Airways PJSC [2010] EWCA Civ 1051; [2011] ETLR 10, at [112], per Rix LJ; Melli Bank plcv. Holbud Ltd[2013] EWHC 1506 (Comm), at [27] (silience and inactivity, on the facts, not indicating acceptance of alleged repudiation).

  117. 117.

    Neil H Andrews, MA Clarke, AM Tettenborn, G Virgo, Contractual Duties: Performance, Breach, Termination and Remedies (London, 2012) (breach and performance section by Neil Andrews), 14–004 ff.

  118. 118.

    Neil H Andrews, MA Clarke, AM Tettenborn, G Virgo, Contractual Duties: Performance, Breach, Termination and Remedies (London, 2012) (breach and performance section by Neil Andrews), 14–017 ff.

  119. 119.

    Fercometal SARL v. Mediterranean Shipping Co SA (‘The Simona’) [1989] AC 788, 805E–F, HL.

  120. 120.

    ibid.

  121. 121.

    Neil H Andrews, MA Clarke, AM Tettenborn, G Virgo, Contractual Duties: Performance, Breach, Termination and Remedies (London, 2012) (breach and performance section by Neil Andrews), 14–026 ff.

  122. 122.

    Stocznia Gdanska SA v. Latvian Shipping Co (No. 3) [2002] EWCA Civ 889; [2002] 2 All ER (Comm) 768, at [87].

  123. 123.

    [2010] EWCA Civ 1051; [2011] ETLR 10, at [122].

  124. 124.

    Neil Andrews, Contract Law (2nd edn, Cambridge University Press, 2015), 18–03 ff; Neil H Andrews, MA Clarke, AM Tettenborn, G Virgo, Contractual Duties: Performance, Breach, Termination and Remedies (London, 2012) (breach and performance section by Neil Andrews), 7–092.

  125. 125.

    White & Carter v. McGregor [1962] AC 413, HL: see 17.10 for detailed discussion.

  126. 126.

    Neil H Andrews, MA Clarke, AM Tettenborn, G Virgo, Contractual Duties: Performance, Breach, Termination and Remedies (London, 2012) (breach and performance section by Neil Andrews), 14–032 ff.

  127. 127.

    Neil H Andrews, MA Clarke, AM Tettenborn, G Virgo, Contractual Duties: Performance, Breach, Termination and Remedies (London, 2012) (breach and performance section by Neil Andrews), chapter 15.

  128. 128.

    Hoenig v. Isaacs [1952] 2 All ER 176, CA (discussed Neil H Andrews, MA Clarke, AM Tettenborn, G Virgo, Contractual Duties: Performance, Breach, Termination and Remedies (London, 2012) (breach and performance section by Neil Andrews), 17.56).

  129. 129.

    Sumpter v. Hedges [1898] 1 QB 673 (17.54).

  130. 130.

    As mentioned in Bolton v. Mahadeva [1972] 1 WLR 1010, CA.

  131. 131.

    Boone v. Eyre (1779) 1 Hy Bl 273n (summarised in the notes to Cutter v. Powell (1795) 6 Term Rep 320; Smith’s Leading Cases (13th edn 1929); Lord Denning MR in ‘The Hansa Nord’ [1976] 1 QB 44, 60, CA).

  132. 132.

    Other modern decisions: Vigers v. Cook [1919] 2 KB 475, 482, CA, Williams v. Roffey & Nicholls (Contractors) Ltd [1991] 1 QB 1, 17, CA; Pilbrow v. Pearless de Rougemont & Co [1993] 3 All ER 355, 361B, 360, CA; Systech International Ltd v. PC Harrington Contractors Ltd [2012] EWCA Civ 1371; [2013] 2 All ER 69, at [17], [31], [32] (Adjudicator in construction dispute not entitled to fee if his decision is unenforceable).

  133. 133.

    [1898] 1 QB 673, CA.

  134. 134.

    [1972] 1 WLR 1010, CA.

  135. 135.

    [1952] 2 All ER 176, CA.

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    Neil Andrews

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Andrews, N. (2016). Breach. In: Arbitration and Contract Law. Ius Gentium: Comparative Perspectives on Law and Justice, vol 54. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27144-6_15

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