The recent judgment of the Supreme Court in Arnold v Britton has slipped under the radar for many lawyers. However, it marks an interesting and potentially significant move away from “commercial common sense” as the touchstone of contractual construction. The Supreme Court concluded that arguments based on commercial common sense “should not undervalue the importance of the language of the provision which is being construed”. Continue reading
The Insurance Act 2015 includes consequential amendments to the Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 2010 that will enable the 2010 Act to finally come into force by autumn 2015. In this blog, I take a look at some of the more significant changes introduced by the 2010 Act, which aim to simplify the cumbersome and expensive procedure for direct claims against insurers set out in its predecessor, the Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 1930. When the 2010 Act comes into force, the 1930 Act will be repealed, except for cases where both the insured incurs liability to a third party and its insolvency occurred before the date when the Act comes into force. Continue reading
Parties who have engaged inquiry agents or investigators often resist disclosure of the names of their sources. Rio Tinto PLC v Vale SA makes it clear that whether or not the court orders disclosure is not a matter of applying a hard and fast rule, but depends on a number of factors. Continue reading