Between A Rock And A Hard Place?

At first sight, the message of the Supreme Court's recent judgment in Rock Advertising v MWB seems simple: if you want to vary your contract, make sure you get it in writing. But in attempting to create greater certainty in this area, the Supreme Court may have created a new set of problems - particularly for businesses wishing to amend large numbers of contracts at the same time.

What happened in Rock v MWB?

Rock Advertising, which was in financial difficulties, had a licence from MWB to use some serviced office space. It alleged that MWB had orally agreed to accept payment of arrears of licence fees in instalments. The Court of Appeal ruled that there had been an effective variation, despite the presence of a clause in the licence saying that all variations had to be in writing, signed by both parties.