Manleys urges business partners to put agreements in writing as it settles cross border litigation case out of court
CHESTER, November 16th 2022 – Manleys Solicitors, a leading Chester law firm, secures another excellent result for a client following the settlement of a commercial cross border litigation case out of court. Led by Peri Mornington, Dispute Resolution Specialist and Solicitor, Manleys was able to successfully navigate the hurdles and pitfalls of a cross-jurisdictional dispute.
The dispute occurred after former business partners, who are not named for legal reasons, failed to translate a verbal agreement into a written one. This led to judiciary complications, with Manleys legal opponent being based in Northern Ireland, and no jurisdiction clause being agreed. Despite the process being exacerbated, Peri Mornington was able to secure £20,000 for their client.
On the successful outcome, Peri Mornington explains that: “Northern Ireland and Scotland are separate legal jurisdictions operating different legal processes to those in England and Wales. The lack of a formal agreement with appropriate jurisdiction clauses would have caused significant issues in this case. Happily, we were able to secure an advantageous result without proceedings.”
Peri Mornington, Dispute Resolution Specialist and Solicitor at Manleys
“Friends and family, and even close business partners, frequently either do not feel there is a need to formalise their agreements in writing, or feel very awkward about proposing formal legally binding agreements due to the closeness of the relationships, and causing offence” Peri explained. “But whilst formalisation hints at a possible future fall-out, which his naturally difficult to raise, unfortunately, commercial relationships can and do break down. When they do, disagreements can quickly escalate to legal proceedings with parties rueing their decision not to get everything agreed in writing. It is worth noting that a jurisdiction clause is something which is of particular relevance since Brexit.”
Manley’s was founded in 2012 by media lawyer Mark Manley. The law firm are a specialist litigation practice, focused on achieving results and building a strong rapport with clients. Manley’s are recognised by both the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners independent legal directories.
Dispute Resolution specialist Peri and the team at Manleys are available to assist anyone who requires help with a dispute over an oral contract or indeed a jurisdictional issue. For more information, contact Manleys [email protected] or 01244 230000