By Helen Ryan, Trainee Solicitor, Duane Morris LLP
On 15 May 2024, the Supreme Court handed down judgment in RTI Ltd v MUR Shipping BV [2024] UKSC 18.
The appeal centred around the issue of whether a force majeure clause which required the affected party to exercise ‘reasonable endeavors’ to overcome the effects of the relevant event or state of affairs meant that the other contracting party had to accept an offer of non-contractual performance.
Seven companies have a claim against their former director for breach of fiduciary duties. Three of those companies have an arbitration agreement.
All seven companies bring a claim in the English court against the former director who applies to have the court proceedings stayed in favour of arbitration.
The three claimants with an arbitration agreement concede that they must sue in arbitration, and the question then becomes whether the court claims by the other claimants should be stayed in favour of the arbitration or not.
Continue reading “English court stays its own proceedings in favour of arbitration”
On 6 February 2024, Partner, Mark Handley and Associate, Paul-Raphael Shehadeh of the London office submitted written evidence to the House of Lords on the proposed reforms to the Arbitration Act.
The evidence has now been published and is available (here).
By Oliver Kent
Picture this. You are a Director at a substantial widget manufacturing company. One of your key materials suppliers, with whom you’ve had a relationship for many years, is causing you grief. There have been a number of complaints from customers in recent times about a decline in widget quality, which appear to be the fault of your supplier. However, you’re behind on your payments to the supplier and they are starting to threaten supply, with disastrous effects for the company. A dispute is brewing.
You have been involved with litigation before and have experience of court proceedings. However, when you check with your legal team about next steps, you learn that your agreement with the supplier contains a clause which appears to indicate that all disputes must be referred to arbitration. The clause is perhaps not drafted with the certainty it should and could have been, and it is not clear the extent to which it is enforceable. The issue usually is framed on the basis of whether there is a valid and enforceable agreement to refer disputes to arbitration.
There are also commercial considerations that may be relevant. Is it preferable to litigate in the domestic courts or arbitrate? This may be a commercial call, just as much as a legal one. This blog shares some of the practical considerations around these issues.
Continue reading “Jurisdictional challenges and arbitration clauses – that old chestnut! – The UK perspective”
