CASES
Changes in making changes
Rock Advertising Limited v MWB Business Exchange
Centres Limited [2018] UKSC 24
The Supreme Court has surprised everyone by doing a u-turn
on anti-oral variation clauses, reversing the relatively recent
position formed by the courts in 2016, which had found that a
contract with anti-oral variation clauses could still be amended by
the parties orally or by conduct.
In 2016, three key judgments were handed down which encouraged
us all to believe that the courts would be prepared to permit
variation by conduct or oral variation arguments, even where the
relevant contract contained a 'no oral variations' clause.
This was particularly relevant to construction contracts, where it
is not uncommon for variations to take place informally or not
otherwise in accordance with the requirements of the contract and,
of course, for disputes to ensue. Following the 2016 decisions, it
was understood that parties would be able to argue that
