Anneliese (leading George McDonald of 4 New Square) appeared as leading counsel for the successful local authority appellant, persuading the Court of Appeal that the joint venture contractor’s suggested interpretation of the £2.6 billion contract was “bizarre”. The Court of Appeal criticised the contractor for seeking to take advantage of any “oddities” and “infelicities” in the massively lengthy relation contract in order to seek to reduce its workload or maximise its profit. The Court commented that in such complex contracts the parties must act reasonably in order to further the “long-term purpose” of the contract. The appeal succeeded on all issues, including the setting aside of certain milestone certificates for manifest error.
A copy of the judgment can be accessed here.
