Defining repudiatory breach

 

Article by Cripps Harries Hall LLP

 

September 2010

 

Allegations of 'repudiatory breach' are often bandied around in commercial disputes, but what kind of breach justifies the label of 'repudiation'?  The recent cases of Gold Group Properties Limited v BDW Trading Limited and BDW Trading Limited v Opticlife Limited illustrate the point and the pitfalls of claiming repudiation where you may not actually have grounds to do so...

 

These two cases illustrate the point that care should always be taken in alleging a repudiatory breach: doing so without appropriate grounds can in itself be a repudiatory breach often leading to some clearly unintended consequences.