PELL FRISCHMANN ENGINEERING LTD V BOW VALLEY IRAN LTD

[2009] UKPC 45, Privy Council Appeal, Lord Phillips, Lord Rodger, Lord Walker, Lord Mance, Lord Clarke, 26 November 2009

Contract - Damages - Contract negotiation - Wrotham Park damages - Quantum

In 1996, the parties had signed a confidentiality agreement as a prelude to a project for the exploration of an offshore oil field. The plan ended in acrimony in July 1997 and litigation commenced in the Royal Court of Jersey in 2004. The claimant was an English engineering company and of the four defendants, the three active defendants were companies in a Canadian group engaged in the oil industry, while the fourth, inactive defendant was a financier. The claimant's case was based on conspiracy, deceit, inducing breach of contract and breach of confidence. The main issue on appeal from the Court of Appeal was the quantum of damages, although the claimant also appealed against the Court of Appeal's dismissal of its claims based on conspiracy and inducing breach of contract. On quantum, the Court of Appeal had awarded Wrotham Park damages (Wrotham Park Estate Co Ltd v Parkside Homes Ltd [1974] 1 WLR 798) of £500,000.