What’s in a guarantee?
1 October 2012
This recent case is a reminder that if you are asked to give what you think is a guarantee you need to be careful what it actually says.
A guarantee precedent
Jan 2014 here’s a precedent you could use for a clause to slot into an agreement between you and a customer. Get legal advice on it before you use it. And of course make sure that it fits the agreement (eg getting the parties’ details right; you, for example, are ‘us’)....
Guarantees: are they enforceable if your co-guarantors don’t all sign?
Oct 2013 When banks ask for guarantees, their documents tend to be pretty watertight so they are hard to escape from. But did the bank here manage to slip up?...
What’s the difference between a guarantee and a performance bond?
Sept 2012 It’s not always totally clear whether a particular document is a guarantee or a performance bond. Many guarantees include wording such as ‘we guarantee as primary obligor’, which is a bit inconsistent – you are either guaranteeing something or you are the ‘primary obligor’, ie the person with the primary obligation. A recent case made clear that you need to be very specific if what you want is a performance bond rather than a guarantee...
Do guarantees have to be signed and in writing? What about emails?
Sept 2012 Since I started in the law, and indeed since some 288 years earlier, the 1677 Statute of Frauds has required that a guarantee needs to be signed and in writing...
Guarantees – be careful!
Feb 2012 Most contracts you enter into can be terminated one way or another. They usually have inbuilt provisions saying that they last for a certain period or that the parties can terminate by giving a period of notice. And if they don’t the law is usually that either side can terminate by giving whatever notice period is ‘reasonable’. Guarantees often aren’t like that...