Court holds debt still due when non-fulfilment of a condition precedent is caused by the buyer’s own breach

Our litigation and disputes team have written a briefing discussing the Court of Appeal decision in King Crude Carriers SA & Ors v Ridgebury November LLC & Ors [2024] EWCA Civ 719. Here the Court confirmed it is an established principle of English law that an obligor cannot rely on the non-fulfilment of a condition precedent to its debt obligation when it has caused such non-fulfilment by its own breach of contract (subject to the contrary intention of the parties). The Court’s analysis followed the English law maxim that a person should not be permitted to take advantage of their own wrongdoing. The legal basis of the principle is that it represents the presumed contractual intention of the parties that the obligee should have the benefit of the debt.

The full briefing is available here as part of our Legalseas series.