Admiralty Sales – Can you stop them?
I won’t mention the “C” word in this article. Suffice to say, it’s now early April 2020 (for those reading in the future) and it’s unfortunately all around us. So, to divert attention from the “C” word, this is about something completely different. It may be worth setting out a little bit of procedural background first. There is a special division of the High Court of Justice here in London, the Admiralty Court, which handles shipping and maritime disputes. Aside from hearing
Contract ambiguity – When Part I and Part II collide
It’s not often that I end up reading US appeal Court judgments, but there was an article in the Law Society Gazette last month which caught my eye and I couldn’t help myself. Glad I did, too, as the judgment raised some interesting points which are worth bringing up as we do come across similar issues every now and again. The case itself, Internaves de Mexico S.A. de C.V. -v- Andromeda Steamship Corporation (& ors), was heard in the United States Court of Appeals for the Elev
A platinum-coated mess reaches the Commercial Court
As any student (or former student) of chemistry will know, palladium forms one of the platinum group elements in the Periodic Table. And so the Commercial Court recently ruled upon a platinum-coated mess arising from an arbitration and settlement negotiations in a dispute concerning the paint system applied to the new-build superyacht, m/y “PALLADIUM”. The case of Goodwood Investments Holdings Inc. v Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions AG, heard in May 2018, arose from an app
Land Tribunal Decision Affecting Pendennis
In a judgment handed down on 24 November 2017, Pendennis Shipyard learned the outcome of its application to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) in the Royal Courts of Justice for the modification of a restrictive covenant affecting part of its estate in Falmouth. In summary, Pendennis invested some £8 million in developing a wet basin on its estate, to allow works to be undertaken in a sheltered location. The land on which the wet basin is situated was subject to a restrictiv
M/S ‘New Flamenco’ – Have your cake and eat it?
Picture this scenario – you charter a cruise ship. It’s all going well, so you decide to extend the charter period by a further 2 years, but you have a change of heart and tell the owners that you won’t be taking the ship for the extended period after all. The owners, unsurprisingly, take issue with this. They call you up on it holding you in breach and they then accept that breach as terminating the charter party. You then re-deliver the ship to the owners, and in the meanti
Can a Letter of Intent “morph” into a binding contract?
It has become fairly commonplace in the yachting industry to see letters of intent being used to “secure” a deal, or an exclusivity period to negotiate a particular transaction for example, particularly with an impending boat show or some other event on the horizon or – as has recently perhaps been seen with the value of the Pound dropping so significantly as against, predominantly, the Euro and the US Dollar – in response to a particular event. The common understanding in su
Aircraft arrest and judgment in default – Court of Appeal rules in contractual claim
In the recent Court of Appeal case of Dubai Financial Group LLC v National Air Services Limited, the appellant, NAS, succeeded in having a default judgment set aside in respect of a dispute concerning a Gulfstream aircraft. The claim arose out of a purchase agreement for a 50% share in the aircraft, which agreement provided an option for DFG at any time after 36 months to require NAS to repurchase the share for a fair market value, provided that no material default by DFG ha
Setback for Cammell Laird windfarm servicing business on Merseyside
In a judgment published on 6 May 2016, the Planning Court of the High Court of Justice quashed a decision of the Planning Inspector to allow planning permission for the development by Cammell Laird of an on-shore office and warehouse building to serve as a marine operations and maintenance facility for windfarms in Liverpool Bay and on the Irish Sea. The Claimants, representing businesses and residents in the locality of the development, including a charter boat operator, arg
Private yacht use and benefit in kind – tax Tribunal ruling a salutary reminder of the law
The recent (March 2016) Tribunal ruling concerning the private use of a yacht provides a salutary reminder (if one were needed) of the implications of using privately a yacht owned by a company. The yacht “SPACE RACE” was purchased by a company, Blue Yearnings Ltd, whose sole director was a Mr Jonathan Blanshard. The case concerned an appeal against a HMRC decision issued in November 2014 that Blue Yearnings Ltd was liable to pay Class 1 National Insurance contributions of
When is a National Park not a National Park?
The High Court’s ruling this month (April 2016) in a claim for judicial review brought by Norfolk landowners Mr Timothy Charles Harris and Mrs Angelika Harris, brings into relief the statutory duties of the Broads Authority and its role as guardians of the unique Broads environment and as a navigation authority. The claim for judicial review challenged a resolution of the Broads Authority passed in January 2015 by which the Authority decided, among other things, that the bra
