Interpretation of liability clause reconsidered

ROYAL DEVON AND EXETER NHS FOUNDATION TRUST v ATOS (CA) [2017]

The Court of Appeal (“CA”) reconsidered the interpretation of a clause seeking to limit liability and reversed the original Court’s decision. It found that a contractor's liability clause imposed two separate caps on liability rather than a single limit.

Facts:

9.2 The aggregate liability of the Contractor … shall not exceed:

9.2.1 for any claim arising in the first 12 months of the term of the Contract, the Total Contract Price; or

9.2.2 for claims arising after the first 12 months of the Contract, the total Contract Charges paid in the 12 months prior to the date of that claim”.

Decision:

Points to note:

back to archive