A breach in the defences

Julian Clark, Winnie Mah and Rachel Hoyland, of Hill Dickinson, discuss the case of Classic Maritime v Limbungan Makmur and the Court of Appeal’s significant restriction of the Golden Victory principle

Two important issues were considered in the recent UK Court of Appeal judgment in Classic Maritime Inc v Limbungan Makmur Sdn Bhd [2019] EWCA Civ 1102 namely: (1) what is the applicable test of causation for an exceptions clause or force majeure clause to bite?; and (2) what is the correct approach to calculating damages when there is an actual breach of contract, but the innocent party would never have received performance in any event (the Golden Victory point)?