Liquidated damages, force majeure and ‘guarantees’

GPP Big Field v Solar EPC Solutions (High Court) [2018]

This case involved a number of topical issues including whether a ‘guarantee’ clause was, in reality, an indemnity and therefore subject to different legal principles.

Facts:

This case concerned five contracts relating to the building of solar power generation plants in the UK. GPP's primary claim under each of the contracts was for liquidated damages for the contractor's failure to commission the plant by the date specified in the relevant contract. The contractor became insolvent. As a result, GPP claimed against Solar’s parent company for damages as guarantor and/or indemnifier under four of the contracts. There were a number of different questions that fell to be decided

Decision:

The court held that: