Can the signatures of both parties to a cohabitation contract be witnessed by the same person? A simple contract (unless for example it relates to the disposal of an interest in land) does not need to be witnessed to be valid, although having a witness present when it is signed may be important later evidentially, if there is a dispute over the circumstances in which it was signed and by whom. Two witnesses might provide an abundance

Case scenario: Where a contract states that Party A’s liability for breach is limited to the ‘price paid’, does this mean that Party A’s liability cap is the price which Party B has already paid at the date of the breach or can it also include sums which Party B is due to pay for other elements of the same contract, but at some future date. In answering this Q&A, we have assumed that the claim is for contractual damages. For information on types of damages, see the following Practice Notes: • Contractual damages—general principles, and • Damages

This Q&A assumes that the query relates to a general commercial contract between businesses (B2B). A contract term which excludes or limits liability is subject to both statutory and common law controls. See Practice Note: Exclusion and limitation of liability which considers exclusion and limitation of liability in B2B contracts. It provides guidance on the common law and statutory controls affecting exclusion and limitation of liability clauses. See, in particular, the section headed Fraud. Limiting/excluding remedies for misrepresentation—statute Under statute (Misrepresentation Act 1967 (MA 1967, s 3)) a contract term which excludes or restricts: ‘(b) any remedy available to another party to the contract by reason of such a misrepresentation’ [emphasis added] is of no effect except to the extent that it satisfies the reasonableness test under section 11(1) and Schedule 2 to the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977

Scope of this Practice Note This Practice Note on contract breach claims provides practical guidance and tips when bringing a claim for breach of contract. It covers immediate considerations on receipt of the papers/instructions, from identifying the breach, the loss and remedy sought, including causation, quantum and duties to mitigate, limitation and issuing and pleading the claim, evidential issues including disclosure and use of experts, as well as practical matters such as pre-action obligations and alternative dispute resolution (ADR). To assist a hypothetical breach of contract scenario is set out below. Contractual breach claims cover a whole host of disputes which have at their essence a contractual relationship between the parties, whether such relationship arises out of a written agreement or one concluded orally or by conduct, or a mix of some/all three methods of establishing contractual obligations. The dispute may arise, for example, out of: • an alleged failure to perform in accordance with the contractual terms—this may be as apparently straight forward as non-delivery of goods and/or (which may involve) a disagreement

Law360: A proposed reform to crack down on exploitative zero-hours contracts is so vaguely drafted that it is unworkable and risks backfiring on its aim to provide more stability for workers, lawyers and industry groups say.

If services are provided in the absence of a written contract, the court will seek to determine whether a contract exists for the performance of which the supplier should be paid. The court could either find: (i) that a contract exists under which the supplier must be paid; or (ii) that no contract exists but the law of restitution may apply. In order to determine whether a contract exists, the court would apply the classic principles of contract formation: offer and acceptance; consideration; intention to create legal relations and certainty, by examining the behaviour of the parties and any communication between them both before and after the provision of the services in question. See Practice Notes: • Forming enforceable contracts—offer • Forming enforceable contracts—acceptance • Forming enforceable contracts—consideration • Forming enforceable contracts—intention to create legal relations

This Q&A is in the context of a business-to-business contract which is not otherwise regulated and that there are no statutory requirements that prescribe the form of the notice. A 'notices' clause provides the means by which parties to a contract formally communicate with each other under the contract. The inclusion of a notices clause in a commercial agreement allows the parties to provide for an agreed means of sending formal notices to one another rather than rely on statutory provisions which may otherwise apply, see Practice Note: Notices—commercial contracts under Statutory provisions for a list of provisions which may apply in the absence of a contractual provision. Notices

There are a number of statutory controls which limit what action an innocent party may take in response to a defaulting party’s breach. This includes statutory controls on contractual mechanisms for responding to such breaches, such as: • the ability to limit or exclude liability for breach • a potential defence to non-performance owing to a sanctions or money-laundering scenario • when insolvency or prospective insolvency might curtail actions in response to a breach • the exclusion of the doctrine of repudiatory breach of contract from certain partnership agreements • limits on rejecting accepted goods For guidance on what may amount to a breach of contract, how the courts approach such assessment with reference to contractual interpretation of the parties’ obligations (and including the ‘principle of futility’ and the ‘prevention principle’) and the remedies available for breach (ie an express contractual right to terminate for breach or termination under the common law doctrine of repudiatory breach) see Practice Note: Breach of contract—damages and termination. Note, a breach of contract may (but will

Once a notice of termination has been given, and provided it is valid, it cannot subsequently be withdrawn unilaterally. This was considered by the courts in Harris and Russell Ltd v Slingsby, in the context of a complaint of unfair

Case study A enters into a contract with B for the repair of a roof of a building. A owns the building, and uses part of the building for business purposes and part for residential accommodation. B enters into the contract as a business carrying out the trade of roof repair. Definition of consumer Under Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA 2015), s 2, ‘consumer’ means an individual acting for purposes that are wholly or mainly outside that individual's trade, business, craft or profession; see Practice Note: Consumer Rights Act 2015—summary. For general information as to how the CRA 2015 applies to contracts for services, see Practice Note: Consumer Rights Act 2015—services. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published guidance on the CRA 2015, which says that it considers that the words 'wholly or mainly' clearly invite consideration of transactions that are entered into for a mixture of personal and business reasons. The CMA believes that, in cases of

This Practice Note looks at the RIBA Standard Professional Services Contract 2020 (2024 amendment) for Architectural Services (RIBA SPSC), considering the key provisions and when the RIBA appointment might be used. For details on the previous 2018 edition, see Practice Note: RIBA Standard Professional Services Contract 2018 for Architectural Services. This form is part of the 2020 suite of RIBA Professional Services Contracts, which also includes: • RIBA Concise Professional Services Contract 2020: Architectural Services • RIBA Domestic Professional Services Contract 2020: Architectural Services • RIBA Principal Designer Professional Services Contract 2020 • RIBA Sub-consultant Professional Services Contract 2020 The parties are the Client and the Architect/Consultant. For clarity, this Practice Note refers to the ‘Architect’. Suitability The RIBA form of appointment is intended to be used for the appointment of an architect/consultant commissioned by a business client or public authority to undertake architectural services on projects procured using the traditional route (see Practice Note: Traditional procurement of construction contracts). RIBA advises that this form should not

Schedule of amendments to the jct minor works building contract with contractor’s design 2011 (as modified by amendment 1: cdm regulations 2015) ARCHIVED: This Precedent has been archived and is not maintained. The Contract comprises the Minor Works Building Contract with contractor’s design 2011 published by the JCT (as modified by Amendment 1: CDM Regulations 2015) subject to the following amendments: Articles of agreement ARTICLES Article 7 Article 7 ArbitrationDelete article 7 and insert ‘All references to arbitration in this Contract are deleted.’ Article 9 After Article 8 insert new Article 9 as follows: Article 9 [ To be added on the face of the contract ] Schedule of Amendments The Employer and the Contractor agree that the modifications in the Schedule of Amendments attached hereto (as initialled by the parties) are incorporated into this Contract and the provisions of the Articles of Agreement, the Contract Particulars, the Conditions and the Schedules annexed to the Conditions shall have effect as modified by the Schedule of Amendments which together comprise the ‘Contract’. Article 10 Insert a new Article: Article 10 Collateral Warranties Within 14 days of