Contract Terms

Question 1

The Office of Fair Trading investigation into ‘cover pricing’ in the construction industry from 2000 to 2006 resulted in what level of fines?

Answer 1

£130 million

Question 2

Cover pricing means what?

Answer 2

Agreeing with a competitor that you will bid a higher price for a job, because you don’t want the work at the moment - but you want to ensure that you stay on the customer’s list of tenderers

Question 3

Name three Acts of Parliament that imply terms into construction contracts

Answer 3

Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977
Supply of Goods & Services Act 1982
Sale of Goods Act 1979

Question 4

Public procurement law applies to what?

Answer 4

Procurement of goods and/or services over certain threshold values by public bodies for use by public bodies

Question 5

What three acts of Parliament require the reporting of suspicious activity to the police and other regulators?

Answer 5

Proceeds of Crime Act 2002
Terrorism Act 2000
Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017

Question 6

What term describes fundamental provisions in a contract?

Answer 6

Conditions

Question 7

What does Taylor-v-Bhail involve?

Answer 7

Fraud involving a ‘backhander’ payment to a school headmaster to secure award of a storm damage repair contract

Question 8

Section 13 of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 implies what terms into a contract which is ‘silent’ on this issue?

Answer 8

A duty to perform the works with reasonable care and skill

Question 9

Laissez faire describes what?

Answer 9

A Victorian ‘hands-off’ approach to the regulation of contracts

Question 10

What expression describes a type of contract that is automatically unenforceable?

Answer 10

Void

Question 11

Name three statements about the provisions of the Bribery Act 2010?

Answer 11

Companies must have adequate procedures to control bribery
Bribery is a crime even if carried out abroad
A company can be held liable for failing to have adequate management systems to spot and eliminate bribery by their employees

Question 12

Name three functions which control the manufacture and supply of construction materials?

Answer 12

EU Construction Products Regulation 2011
British Standards
Building Regulations 2010

Question 13

How would you describe an indemnity?

Answer 13

A promise to compensate the full value of loss or other expense

Question 14

Which legislation outlaws discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief?

Answer 14

Equality Act 2010

Question 15

What does contra proferentem mean?

Answer 15

Interpret an exclusion clause narrowly

Question 16

What does ‘incorporated into a contract’ mean?

Answer 16

That the content of a separate document has become part of the contract

Question 17

What is likely to affect the potential enforceability of an exclusion clause?

Answer 17

If there has been fraud
If reasonable steps have not been taken to draw the exclusion to the customer’s attention
If notification of the exclusion was not given until after the contract was made?

Question 18

What is controlled by Section 2 of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977?

Answer 18

Excluding liability for death or bodily injury caused by negligence is prohibited. Other liability arising from negligence can only be excluded to the extent that this is reasonable

Question 19

Under section 3 of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977, attempts to exclude liability for failing to perform a contract (or offering different performance) is only allowed if ‘reasonable’ in which of the following types of contracts?

Answer 19

Contracts entered into one party’s standard terms (without negotiation of those terms)

Question 20

Under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1997, what are some considerations when assessing the reasonableness of exclusion clauses?

Answer 20

Whether insurance is available to cover the liability that is to be excluded
The relative bargaining position of the parties
How small the print was on the contract