DAMAGES AND EXCLUSION CLAUSES

Britvic Soft Drinks Ltd v Messer UK Ltd [2002] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 20

In Britvic Soft Drinks Ltd v Messer UK Ltd [2002] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 20 Mr Justice Tomlinson considered a number of matters relating to the assessment of damages and the validity of an exclusion clause. In particular his judgment illustrates that a limitation clause is more likely to pass the reasonableness test under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 than a total exclusion of liability and it also demonstrates the need for caution when drafting a clause which purports to exclude liability for breach of the implied term that goods must be of satisfactory quality.