Plaintiffs allege breaches of inter–connected written contracts of sale
Alleged non–compliance with notices of default following failures to settle
Quick Take
1Under O 14 r 3 RSC, once a plaintiff establishes a prima facie case, the evidential burden shifts to the defendant to establish a triable issue; bare assertions in a solicitor's correspondence, unverified by evidence, are insufficient to discharge that burden.
2A defendant resisting summary judgment on the basis of an oral or collateral agreement varying written contracts must adduce evidence as to when, how, and on what terms that agreement was made and how it interacts with the written contracts; failure to do so is fatal to the defence.
3Where written contracts contain specific default and termination procedures (here AIBB 2012 General Conditions), a defendant who cannot point to any contractual provision requiring pre-settlement provision of information cannot rely on alleged non-provision of that information as a defence to non-settlement.
