Snooze, you Lose | Case by Case (Ep. 55)
In this week’s episode, Luke and Calum discuss English Commercial Court case Anron Bunkering DMCC v Glencore Energy UK Ltd [2023] EWHC 295 (Comm). Commodity sales contract dispute between buyer and seller. Seller paid significant sums but not the full price. Buyer received those sums and discharged much, but not all, of the cargo.
The claimant seller got themselves into a procedural pickle. They brought the claim late. The limitation period was in play if the unjust enrichment claim arose more than six years ago.
The claimant stopped paying its solicitors (can I say, not a good idea?!). Solicitors pulled out.
The defendant applied to strike out the claim summarily. A few interesting questions arose:
1. What happens when a party tries to adjourn a summary judgment hearing at the last moment?
2. What’s the nature of a court’s assessment at a summary judgment hearing?
3. Is it necessary for an actual termination of the contract to occur for time to start running on an unjust enrichment case? Or is it sufficient for certain circumstances to arise, without termination?
This allowed us to revisit the BP v Vega case of 2021. And it was interesting to see how defendant’s counsel handled the arguments in the absence of the claimant.
Calum and Luke hope you enjoy in this procedurally messy, legally fascinating case. You can find the links to this pod below in the comments. Please do subscribe on your preferred channels if you are liking these !