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Contract Drafting Contract Interpretation

Bennett Jones LLP

Do You Need to Rush to Mediate? Ontario Court of Appeal Clarifies Interpretation of Multi-Step Dispute Resolution Clause

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Multi-step dispute resolution (MSDR) clauses introduce escalating stages of conflict resolution, which are aimed at promoting settlement prior to engaging in full scale litigation or arbitration. MSDR clauses typically...more

Mayer Brown

Contractual Clarity is Paramount in Offshore Construction Projects (Pharos v. KML)

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The High Court (TCC) recently handed down a notable decision in Pharos Offshore Group Ltd v Keynvor Morlift Ltd [2025] EWHC 1764 (TCC), emphasising the importance of contractual clarity in offshore construction projects. This...more

Lasher Holzapfel Sperry & Ebberson PLLC

LEGALESE: Understanding Conditions Precedent in Seattle Commercial Contracts | Washington Business Law

Conditions precedent are critical provisions in commercial contracts that require specific events or actions to occur before contractual obligations become enforceable. These conditions serve as legal triggers, ensuring that...more

BCLP

Getting the Settlement Agreement Right

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In this Insight, first published in PLC, Shy Jackson considers how settlement agreements, while intended to resolve disputes, can sometimes become the source of further conflict over their interpretation and performance. ...more

Kohrman Jackson & Krantz LLP

Ohio Court Upholds Landlord’s Right to Accelerated Rent Without Mitigation in Commercial Lease

In another significant win for commercial landlords, an Ohio Court of Appeals recently affirmed the enforceability of a lease provision allowing a landlord to recover accelerated rent without any duty to mitigate damages. In...more

Potomac Law Group, PLLC

The Devil's in the Definitions

One of the big differences between how most non-lawyers read a contract, and how most experienced transactional lawyers read a contract, has to do with the definitions....more

Morgan Lewis - Tech & Sourcing

Law and Orders: Aligning Standard Ordering Documents with Corresponding Template Agreements

Commercial contracts are typically represented by two separate, yet equally important, components: the master agreement that contains primarily legal terms, and the ordering documentation that contains primarily commercial...more

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

Limitation and Exclusion of Liability Clauses Under Quebec Law: Legal Guidance and Drafting Tips

The inclusion of limitation and exclusion of liability clauses in contracts entered into in Quebec requires an understanding of civil law and public order restrictions. Since the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) ruling in...more

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

L’influence des tribunaux sur les contrats : Survol de décisions récentes rendues par des cours d’appel et la Cour suprême

La jurisprudence canadienne récente influe sur l’approche que devraient adopter les rédacteurs de textes juridiques au moment de formuler des clauses contractuelles. Des décisions clés, notamment de la Cour suprême du Canada...more

ArentFox Schiff

Don’t Take Your Forum Selection Clause for Granted

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It seems like every few months I hear about a situation where a company can’t enforce a forum selection clause as anticipated because of how it was drafted. Recently, an individual named Sidharth Lakhani fell victim to this...more

Freeman Law

Is it Really Over? Contract Provisions that Survive Termination and Why.

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Just like many relationships, not all parts of a contract become things of the past when they expire or terminate. One way to ensure that a contractual right or duty applies post-termination is to specify that will it...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Court’s Decision in High Stakes Case Cuts Through the “Fog of Dueling ‘Notwithstanding’ Clauses”

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In a post I wrote about a dozen years ago, I quoted Ken Adams, blogger and author of A Manual of Style for Contract Drafting, who, commenting on the oft-used contract clause, “Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this...more

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals Restrictively Interprets Standard Government Release Language

The ASBCA restrictively interpreted standard release language in a government modification. In the Sauer Construction case, ambiguous release language couldn't bar a remediation claim, highlighting the need for clear...more

A&O Shearman

Disputes 101- Contractual interpretation: through the looking-glass

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If you draft contracts, you want to ensure, if there's ever a dispute, that the court agrees with your meaning. As a litigator, you will want the words to mean whatever your client wants them to mean. Either way, you need to...more

Sullivan & Worcester

Interpreting English Law Contracts: avoiding the bear traps

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The importance of clear drafting cannot be overstated. Ambiguity of language can lead to disputes, costly litigation and unintended outcomes. The recent Court of Appeal judgment in Cantor Fitzgerald & Co v Yes Bank Ltd [2024]...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Overview of Three Recent Decisions on the Interpretation of Contractual Clauses

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English courts will seek to determine the objective meaning of a contractual provision when a dispute as to its interpretation arises. The starting point is the ordinary meaning of the words in the agreement but as and when...more

Barnea Jaffa Lande & Co.

Israeli Contracts Law Proposed Amendment – How Dramatic Is It?

The Israeli Ministry of Justice recently published a memorandum of law amending the Contracts Law, which seeks to add unique rules of interpretation to business contracts. In the economic press, we saw dramatic headlines...more

Morgan Lewis - Tech & Sourcing

Take Care to Avoid Ambiguity When Using Template Liability Provisions

It is often appealing for businesses that are under pressure to get contracts signed to turn to template documents. While these templates can be very convenient, it is imperative, especially with regard to liability...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

The Basics of Contract Interpretation: A Primer for Non-Lawyers in the Construction Industry

Every first year law student in the U.S. takes a course on the Law of Contracts. It’s a rite of passage where lawyers-to-be learn all about things like consideration and legally-enforceable promises. And as lawyers, we also...more

Goldberg Segalla

Risk Transfer, Employer Liability and Grave Injuries: Who Is Going to Pay?

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There are four basic causes of action involved in pursuing risk transfer. Two based upon contractual requirements which are known as Contractual Indemnification and Insurance Procurement, and two based upon the common law...more

A&O Shearman

It’s not you, it’s me: relational contract to be interpreted like all others

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The Court of Appeal has (thankfully) confirmed there are no special rules of interpretation when it comes to relational contracts. This was a dispute about whether Quantum Actuarial had to do what was necessary to...more

A&O Shearman

A cautionary tale of the importance of keeping track of changes

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A recent Scottish case involving a dispute over the calculation of the purchase price under a share purchase agreement highlights the importance of ensuring that definitions (and other terms in an agreement) accurately...more

Ward and Smith, P.A.

When Is a Deal a Deal?

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Oftentimes, individuals attempt to negotiate deals on their own without the benefit of legal advice and assistance. At best, this can lead to certain pitfalls. At worst, this can lead to the complete invalidity of the...more

Allen Matkins

Howsoever Denominated, This Was Not Promissory Fraud

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Parties exchange drafts of a contract and before signing one party surreptitiously substitutes provisions in the copy to be executed.  Some might call this "promissory fraud", but as Justice William Dato explains in an...more

A&O Shearman

Bacardi guaranteed or indemnified to breeze through contractual interpretation

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Once again the court looks at the vexed question of the distinction between a guarantee and an indemnity....more

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