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Civil way: 20 June 2008

19 June 2008 / Stephen Gold
Issue: 7326 / Categories: Features , Civil way
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Wishy-washy contracts the cohabitation splits the unilateral notice to quit new domestic violence PD

BEWARE THE KILLER

Uncertainty of terms. It is a killer. It killed in Lee-Parker v Izzet (No 2) [1972] 2 All ER 800. In that case, there was an agreement for the sale of a house “subject to the purchaser obtaining a satisfactory mortgage”. Mr Justice Goulding held that this was a condition precedent to the existence of a binding contract and that it was void for uncertainty. “Everything is at large, not only matters like the rate of interest and the ancillary obligations on which evidence might establish what would be usual or reasonable, but also those two most essential points—the amount of the loan and the terms of repayment.”

And in Schweppe v Harper [2008] All ER (D) 311 (May) the parties made an oral agreement that if the claimant obtained third party finance which led to the defendant obtaining an annulment of his bankruptcy then the defendant would pay the claimant £50,000. But the terms

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Hugh James—Phil Edwards

Hugh James—Phil Edwards

Serious injury teambolstered by high-profile partner hire

Freeths—Melanie Stancliffe

Freeths—Melanie Stancliffe

Firm strengthens employment team with partner hire

DAC Beachcroft—Tim Barr

DAC Beachcroft—Tim Barr

Lawyers’ liability practice strengthened with partner appointment in London

NEWS
Ceri Morgan, knowledge counsel at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP, analyses the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Johnson v FirstRand Bank Ltd, which reshapes the law of fiduciary relationships and common law bribery
The boundaries of media access in family law are scrutinised by Nicholas Dobson in NLJ this week
Reflecting on personal experience, Professor Graham Zellick KC, Senior Master of the Bench and former Reader of the Middle Temple, questions the unchecked power of parliamentary privilege
Geoff Dover, managing director at Heirloom Fair Legal, sets out a blueprint for ethical litigation funding in the wake of high-profile law firm collapses
James Grice, head of innovation and AI at Lawfront, explores how artificial intelligence is transforming the legal sector
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