Westminster Watch

Contract – Implied terms. The contracts formed between the defendant, the Post Office Ltd, and the claimants, (who were mostly sub-postmasters) were relational contracts, such that there had been an implied duty of good faith in the agreement(s) between the parties. It followed that the Post Office had not been entitled to act in a way that would be considered commercially unacceptable by reasonable and honest people. The Queen's Bench Division so ruled, among other things, in respect of a group litigation brought by the claimants, in circumstances where they had been held responsible for alleged shortfalls in their financial accounting with the Post Office, which they contended had been caused by problems with the way the Post Office's computerised system for accounting had operated.

Extradition – Extradition crime. The judge had not erred in holding, as required by s 78(4)(b) of the Extradition Act 2003, that the conduct alleged in the extradition request could amount to aiding and abetting offences of murder, affray and firearms offences and that they were all extradition offences. Accordingly, the Divisional Court dismissed the appellant's appeal against orders for her extradition to the United States of America to face trial for ten offences set out in an indictment which contained allegations of murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

Damages – Personal injury. The clear disparity in the long-term impact on two drivers, who had been involved in a car accident, was not allowed, in law, to predispose the court on its decision on liability. The Queen's Bench Division so ruled on a claim brought against the defendant for compensation for the brain damage the claimant had sustained in the accident. The court held that a just and equitable apportionment of liability, in circumstances where each party had created a considerable hazard for the other, was 50% in respect of the defendant, and 50% contributory in respect of the claimant.

Tax – Value added tax. The appellant company's appeal against a finding that its supplies of education to students in the United Kingdom were not exempt from VAT succeeded. The Supreme Court held that the scope of Note 1(b) of Item 1 of Group 6 of Sch 9 to the Value Added Tax Act 1994 was not limited to a college, institution, school or hall of an university which was separate from a university but was nevertheless a part of it in a constitutional or structural sense. The appellant's supplies of education to students in the UK were exempt from VAT because it had been and remained a college of Middlesex University.

Contract – Formation. The claimant company's claim as formulated for loss of profits, arising from the defendant company's breach of contract in failing to supply machines that could perform in accordance with the quotation and as represented, failed for want of proof. However, the facts, as established by the evidence, had showed that the claimant had suffered some losses caused by the defendant's breach of contract. Accordingly, the Technology and Construction Court allowed the claim in respect of certain alternative grounds and held that the claimant was entitled to damages in the sum of SAR 3,716,769.