Under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, SI 2013/3134 (CCR 2013), a 'sales contract' is defined as 'a contract under which a trader transfers or agrees to transfer the ownership of goods to a consumer and the consumer pays or agrees to pay the price, including any contract that has both goods and services as its object' (emphasis added) (CCR 2013, SI 2013/3134, reg 5). A hire agreement, where the ownership of the goods is not transferred to the consumer, therefore does not fall within the definition of a 'sales contract'. Such contracts may instead fall under the definition of a 'service contract', which are defined as 'a contract, other than a sales contract, under which a trader supplies or agrees to supply a service to a consumer and the consumer pays or agrees to pay the

Application of the CCR 2013 The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, SI 2013/3134 (CCR 2013) regulate three different types of contracts between traders and consumers: ‘on-premises contracts’, ‘off-premises contracts’ and ‘distance contracts’. The distinction is important, because the CCR 2013 treats the different types of contracts in different ways. Significantly for the purposes of answering the question, under CCR 2013, SI 2013/3134, reg 29 distance and off-premises contracts have a right of cancellation, usually 14 days, whereas on-premises contracts do not. Definitions A ‘distance contract’ is defined as ‘a contract concluded between a trader and a consumer under an organised distance

It will be assumed in this answer that there is no collateral contract, multiple (group) contract or agency agreement present. It is further assumed that the contract is either still in force, or the applicable limitation period has not expired. See Practice Note: Limitation—the principal limitation periods. The Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 (C(RTP)A 1999) only applies to contracts entered into on or after 11 May 2000 (or on or after 11 November 1999 if they expressly provide for the application of C(RTP)A 1999 (C(RTP)A 1999, s 10), meaning that in respect of contracts concluded prior to such date(s) (as applicable) (and assuming no subsequent variations to the contrary agreed between the parties) the terms of the C(RTP)A 1999 cannot be relied upon by third parties to the contract and the common law doctrine of privity of

We have been unable to find any authority on whether the common law fetters a contractual clause entitling a party to assign the burden under a contract without the other party’s consent. See Practice Note: What constitutes a valid assignment of a contract? which sets out the requirements for a valid assignment, whether one taking effect in law or in equity. Generally, (absent interlaced benefit and burden cases) an assignment can transfer only rights under the contract and not duties, provided they are independent of each other (Pan Ocean v Creditcorp

For information about varying an employment contract, generally, see Practice Note: Changing terms and conditions of employment. Where a contractual change proposed by the employer is not already authorised by the terms of the contract, the employer may seek to vary the contract with the express agreement of the employee(s) concerned. See Practice Note: Changing terms and conditions of employment, under the main section dealing with ‘Changes not permitted by the contract: obtaining consent’. Assuming the employee consents to the change, normal contractual principles apply, namely for the variation to the contract to be effective and binding it must be supported by consideration, or be made in a deed (see Practice Note: Executing documents—deeds and simple contracts and Commentary: Consideration and certainty: Halsbury’s Laws of England [16]). For

Section 6(1)(b) of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1994 provides that the seller is not liable in respect of any matter to which

In answering this Q&A we have assumed that this is a lease which prior to the assignment would have had the protection of Part 2 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954). But for the original landlord and tenant having complied with the notice procedure to exclude it, further notices are not required. The starting point under LTA 1954, s 23 is that the protection of LTA 1954 extends to any tenancy where the property comprised in it is or includes premises which are occupied by the tenant for her purposes of a business which it carries on or for those and other purposes. If the tenancy has the protection of the LTA 1954, then as a result of LTA 1954, s 24 it can only be brought to

We have limited this answer to cover public procurement procedures under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015), SI 2015/102 involving a separate selection stage. PCR 2015, SI 2015/102, reg 55(1) provides that contracting authorities shall, as soon as possible, inform each candidate and tenderer of a decision reached concerning the conclusion of a framework agreement, the award of a contract or admittance to a dynamic purchasing system. PCR 2015, SI 2015/102, reg 55(2)(a), goes on to confirm that on request from the candidate or tenderer the contracting authority shall within 15 days of such a request inform them of the reasons for the rejection of its request to participate. Furthermore, a contracting authority also needs to comply with the requirements of PCR 2015, SI 2015/102, reg 86. PCR

For the purposes of this Q&A, the contract is a business to business contract which is not subject to specific industry or sector regulation. Express termination rights in the contract You may firstly wish to consider the express and implied terms of the contract with regards to termination. In particular, consider whether the terms of the contract provide that the occurrence of administration is an automatic trigger event resulting in immediate termination of the contract or whether it is provided that the non-defaulting party has the right (but not necessarily the obligation) to terminate, or to terminate within a given period of time of such occurrence.

This Q&A focuses on whether a contract has been formed and, if so, on what terms. The principles of contract formation, offer and acceptance (and counter-offer) and express and implied terms (set out below) will need to be considered in light of the particular situation in question. For a contract to be effective, four key elements must be present: Acceptance of a contract may be express or may be inferred from words or conduct: Brogden v Metropolitan Railway Corporation. The test is whether a reasonable person in the position of the offeror would think that the offeree was by his conduct intending to accept the offer: IRC v Fry. Unilateral contracts are usually accepted by conduct. In the case of a bilateral contract, the offeree must make a counter-promise to the offeror which, in an appropriate case, could also be inferred from conduct. Acceptance will only be inferred

This Q&A relates to the position in respect of the assignment of IP rights under English law. The general position is that the assignment of an IP right must be in writing, signed by or on behalf of the assignor or personal representative. There is no requirement for the assignee to sign an assignment unless they are accepting obligations. The provisions setting out the formalities required for the assignment of the key IP rights are as follows: • registered trade marks, see: section 24(3) of the Trade

If the main contractor becomes insolvent, its sub-contractor will want to know if it can obtain payment from any other source, in particular from the employer. The sub-contractor's first step should always be to check whether the terms of its sub-contract provide any assistance in such a situation. In doing so, the sub-contractor should also check the terms of the main contract if, as is often the case, it has been incorporated into the sub-contract. If a copy of the main contract was not physically attached to the sub-contract at the time of execution, the terms of the sub-contract may entitle the sub-contractor to ask for a copy from the main contractor. This Q&A looks at the possible routes by which the sub-contractor may be able to obtain payment in these circumstances. Collateral warranty If the sub-contractor has provided a collateral warranty to the employer, it may contain 'step-in' rights which allow the employer, in certain circumstances, to take over the role of the main contractor