James E McCabe Ltd v Scottish Courage Ltd [2006] EWHC 538 (Comm) (28 March 2006)

James E McCabe Ltd v Scottish Courage Ltd [2006] EWHC 538 (Comm) (28 March 2006)

No implied term requiring SCL to provide price support can be read into the Agreement due to exhaustive express provisions; summary judgment granted on price restriction claims. Notice and request issues under Clause 1.4 involve factual disputes inappropriate for summary judgment; application refused. Severability...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
[2006] EWHC 538 (Comm)
Parties
Claimant: James E McCabe Limited; Defendant: Scottish Courage Limited
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
28 March 2006
Procedural Posture
Commercial Court Claim / Summary Judgment Applications Prior to Trial
Outcome
Summary judgment granted in part (Price Restrictions); refused in part (Multiple Retailer/Notice and Restraint of Trade).
Legal Topics
Implied Terms, Restraint of Trade, Summary Judgment, Exclusive Distributorship, Pricing Provisions, Notice Requirements
Contract Law Competition Law Commercial Law Implied Terms Restraint of Trade Summary Judgment Exclusive Distributorship Pricing Provisions +1 more

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Summary, issues, holding and outcome

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Parties

James E McCabe Limited

Claimant

Scottish Courage Limited

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Commercial Court Claim / Summary Judgment Applications Prior to Trial

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether an implied term requiring SCL to provide price support to McCabe can be read into the Agreement
  2. 2 Whether SCL breached notice requirements under Clause 1.4 regarding sales to multiple retailers
  3. 3 Whether Clause 7.1 (Competing Beer restriction) is unenforceable as an unreasonable restraint of trade and, if so, whether it is severable from the Agreement

Ratio Decidendi

No implied term requiring SCL to provide price support can be read into the Agreement due to exhaustive express provisions; summary judgment granted on price restriction claims. Notice and request issues under Clause 1.4 involve factual disputes inappropriate for summary judgment; application refused. Severability of Clause 7.1 cannot be determined as a pure question of law without evidence; application refused.

Court Disposition

Summary judgment granted in part (Price Restrictions); refused in part (Multiple Retailer/Notice and Restraint of Trade).

Orders

  • Summary judgment for SCL on price restriction claims (D1-D2).
  • Multiple Retailer/Notice and Restraint of Trade applications to proceed to trial.