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back to article Contract can be formed by company's actions, High Court rules

The actions of two companies can lead to a binding contract being formed even if there is a mistake in the terms of the contract itself, the High Court has ruled. The High Court determined that a contract had existed between Statoil ASA and TTMI Sari because Statoil had paid TTMI for delivering its freight – even though there …

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  1. Vladimir Plouzhnikov

    A typo

    Should be Sempra Energy, not Sempa...

    Other than that - demurrage (penalties for vessel's idle time beyond an agreed laytime limit in ports) is a legal cesspit. Anything can happen there...

    And, anyway, a constructive contract is not such a unique event...

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    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      I don't know about cesspit...

      But vessel owners have an expensive resource on their hands, and idle time costs money. If you can't return the resource (book to a library, rental car to the agency, 'escort' to the pimp) when agreed to, expect to be charged overtime.

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  2. Individual #6/42

    What's the news here?

    Offer, Acceptance, Consideration, Intention to create legal relations.This seems like first term contract law. What am I missing?

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  3. Anonymous Coward
    Boffin

    Wow

    I am not sure I follow this.

    Basically this says that the agreement between Statoil and TTMI which involves a payment for services means there is an implied contract.

    Have I missed something?

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  4. Danny 14
    Go

    whaaa?

    Common sense being used?

    shiver me timbers.

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  5. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

    @what's the news here

    You are working as a contractor. They decide not to pay you on the basis that your contract was with Megacorp and they are in fact megacorp-uk (a wholly owned subsiduary of megacorp bermuda holdings holdings ltd)

    This ruling says - "come of it, you're getting paid".

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  6. Anonymous Coward
    Unhappy

    Had this happen to me....

    BBC paid the contractor, then the contractor refused to pay me, the sub contractor, because of a miss-print in their contract papers..

    Only the big guys get to fight it out in court, the little guys get shafted.

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  7. Anonymous Coward
    Paris Hilton

    Seems a fair exception

    The exception being that the reality of an existing yet unsigned arrangement just indicates that administrators have to catch up with real world events.

    Not to do so would probably bring an internal conflict (think civil war) to one or both organisations?

    And such conflict would not be good for any senior or executive managers never mind for the board itself?

    Hint: it would imply that the Board is out of touch with reality

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    1. John B 1
      Reply Icon
      Boffin

      It implies at least one side doesn't employ enough lawyers

      Seriously, in-house counsel would just said "pay up", although internal politics usually play a part in this sort of thing.

      The case law on this situation goes back over a century, and it's clear: if you behave as if there's a contract, there's a contract. In shipping and industry, there'll be common practices which the court will imply the parties intended to be bound by.

      Trust me, I'm not a lawyer.

      Yet

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  8. Wayland Sothcott 1

    This is well established already

    If you do a regular job for someone and they regularly pay you for it, that's a contract. It's a bit unusual for a written contract to be re-written by the actual way the parties carry on, there is usually a clause that says you can't do that, you have to actually change the written contract.

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