Pleon Limited v Leonis Yachting Limited (“The Maltese Falcon”)

Pleon Limited v Leonis Yachting Limited (“The Maltese Falcon”)

The express terms of the Agreement for Access, particularly Clause 3.3, allocate the risk of unseaworthiness to Leonis, and there is no necessity or business efficacy requiring an implied term qualifying Leonis’s obligations based on prior maintenance by Pleon. The contract works without the implied term, and the risk remains with Leonis as buyer and provider of access.

Parties
Claimant: Pleon Limited; Defendant: Leonis Yachting Limited
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
28 November 2025
Procedural Posture
Arbitration Appeal / Judgment on Appeal Under Section 69 Arbitration Act 1996
Outcome
Appeal allowed
Legal Topics
Implied Terms, Business Efficacy, Risk Allocation, Seaworthiness, Maintenance Obligations
Contract Law Arbitration Implied Terms Business Efficacy Risk Allocation Seaworthiness Maintenance Obligations

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Parties

Pleon Limited

Claimant

Leonis Yachting Limited

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Arbitration Appeal / Judgment on Appeal Under Section 69 Arbitration Act 1996

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether a term should be implied into the Agreement for Access making Leonis’s obligations conditional on the Yacht’s hull and machinery having been properly maintained on delivery under the Agreement for Sale

Ratio Decidendi

The express terms of the Agreement for Access, particularly Clause 3.3, allocate the risk of unseaworthiness to Leonis, and there is no necessity or business efficacy requiring an implied term qualifying Leonis’s obligations based on prior maintenance by Pleon. The contract works without the implied term, and the risk remains with Leonis as buyer and provider of access.

Court Disposition

Appeal allowed