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“RES COGITANS” – What next for Owners?
Court of Appeal decides bunker supply contracts between OW Bunker and Owners are not covered by SOGA 1979
On 22 October 2015, the Court of Appeal (Lord Justices Moore-Bick, Longmore and McCombe) delivered their judgment on Owners’ appeal of the decision of Mr Justice Males (sitting in the Commercial Court). The much-anticipated judgment has confirmed that the bunker supply contract in question, which incorporated OW Bunker’s standard terms and conditions, was not a contract for the sale of goods within the meaning of the Sale of Goods Act 1979.
This is a further step towards certainty of the position as between Owners and OW/ING, with the result that, at least as far as the Court of Appeal is concerned, Owners’ argument that OW/ING had to satisfy Section 49 of the Act in order to succeed in their claim is wrong. An application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court seems likely given the importance of the issue, in the context of the complex range of litigation currently underway globally in relation to the collapse of OW Bunker & Trading AS.
But where does this leave the parties to the chain of bunker contracts in question?
To read the full update, please click here.
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