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posted 9 years ago
This article aims to provide guidance in relation to the implementation of an Entire Agreement clause when negotiating a contract, and outline what must always be taken into consideration in order to effectively incorporate this type of clauses into a contractual agreement.
The purpose of incorporating an entire agreement clause into a contract
The purpose of incorporating an Entire Agreement clause into a contract is to exclude liability for any statements or representations (including pre-contractual) other than those expressly set out in the written contract between the contracting parties. This clause is a very important provision, especially in relation to the most common form of judicial dispute, the litigation proceedings.
A court in a judicial dispute will scrutinise the precise wording of an Entire Agreement clause in order to understand its effect and meaning. If it is not clear, the court will seek to infer the contracting parties’ intentions. Subsequently, contracting parties shall therefore pay great attention when drafting an Entire Agreement clause in order to ensure that this clause is effective.
Excluding implied terms
The proper incorporation of an effective Entire Agreement clause can potentially exclude implied terms. Courts will alwayas consider the type of terms being implied into a contractual relationship. For example, an Entire Agreement clause may be binding and effectively exclude the inclusion of any implied terms which are based on the previous course of dealing in a commercial contract. It must be noted however, that where, for example, the implied term is one which is essential for reasons of business efficacy, such an implied term can prevail over an Entire Agreement clause on the basis that the implied term arguably existed in the contract from the outset.
Practical points to consider when drafting an entire agreement clause
The effect of an Entire Agreement clause against a misrepresentation claim
An entire agreement clause will not be effective on its own to prevent a claim that a contracting party entered into a contract in reliance on a misrepresentation. A good example is a contractual clause which simply states that “the agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties and supersedes all previous statements”. This wording alone in an Entire Agreement clause would not exclude claims for pre-contractual misrepresentation because the statement does not expressly say it will.
An Entire Agreement clause that did not expressly and unambiguously exclude remedies for pre-contractual misrepresentations and which failed to distinguish between liabilities for different types of misrepresentation was held in the past to be ineffective.
To ensure that an entire agreement clause effectively excludes liability for pre-contractual misrepresentation, in addition to the entire agreement statement, contractual parties must always consider including the following:
In addition to the above, contracting parties who wish to effectively incorporate an Entire Agreement clause in a contract, may also need to include provisions for excluding implied conditions and warranties and ensure it works consistently with the liability provisions. For high value (and therefore high risk) commercial contracts, parties must also consider the following practical safeguards:
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought on your specific circumstances. For further information, please contact Stavros Ioannou at stavros.ioannou@kyprianou.com.cy
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