Commercial Law - Implied Contractual Term - Letter of Engagement

The lawsuit of Weetwood Services Ltd volt Ansvar Holdings Ltd [2007], concerned the deduction of a term of a contract. The suspect occupied a land site on which it planned to develop a auto showroom. It received an suspension notice from the local authorization concerning the unauthorised creative activity of a culvert for a watercourse on the site. The being of the culvert affected the planning permission for the projected auto showroom.

It was the purpose of the authorization that the culvert be removed and replaced by an unfastened transmission channel stream. The suspect engaged the services of the claimant technology company to supply a study on the culvert. The claimant was asked:

- whether the culvert was capable of handling the volume of H2O ever likely to go through through it (referred to as the "1 in 100 twelvemonth test"); and

- whether the former watercourse could be reinstated within a transmission transmission channel 10m broad along the North landing.

By the footing of the battle letter, the claimant undertook:

- To transport out a topographical survey;

- To measure the catchment hydrology to give culvert influx hydrographs for tax tax return time time periods of 5, 25, 50 and 100 years;

- To construct an HEC-RAS theoretical account of the watercourse with the culvert in topographic point and with the substitution channel; and

- To run the two theoretical accounts for the assorted return periods and 'report on' the results.

In December 2001, the claimant provided a study which concluded that the culvert was inadequate. The suspect took the position that the study did not follow with the missive of engagement, in that deficient computations for the two theoretical accounts had been provided, only the results.

The claimant subsequently provided some additional information, though not to the satisfaction of the defendant, who refused to pay the fee of around £5,000. The claimant then issued proceedings.

The justice held that the bounds of the claimant's duty under the missive of battle was to supply the consequences of the mathematical modelling, without more. The suspect subsequently appealed.

The issue was whether by the diction of the battle letter, or by an silent term (the defendant's option argument), the claimant had been in breach of contract in failing to supply the footing of the consequences of the modelling which it had undertaken.

The entreaty would be dismissed.

It was held on entreaty that on the true building of the battle letter, the claimant had not undertaken to describe the computations involved in its report, only the results. The recommended silent term was therefore not necessary for concern efficacy. It was therefore decided that the intent of the battle of the claimant was to find the possible for flooding, which the information that the applied scientists had provided had done.

© RT COOPERS, 2007. This Briefing Note makes not supply a comprehensive or complete statement of the law relating to the issues discussed nor makes it represent legal advice. It is intended only to foreground general issues. Specialist legal advice should always be sought in relation to peculiar circumstances.