Key Facts
- •Management Information Centre Limited (MICL) provided IT services to Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust (RBFT) from 2015 to 2022.
- •RBFT terminated the services in June 2022, engaging Techfull Limited (a company formed by MICL's former directors).
- •MICL claims unlawful termination, alleging a contract with a nine-month notice period or breach of good faith.
- •RBFT argues that MICL worked on project-by-project contracts with no notice requirement.
- •MICL's claim is hampered by deleted emails and missing documentation due to the actions of its former directors.
- •The case involves disputes over the existence and nature of the contract (oral, written, implied, relational), notice periods, and standard terms and conditions.
- •A draft Call-Off contract was negotiated but never executed, and this played a role in the arguments.
Legal Principles
Summary Judgment - CPR 24.2
Civil Procedure Rules
Striking out a statement of case - CPR 3.4
Civil Procedure Rules
Practice Direction 16 - Particulars of Claim based on written or oral agreements
Civil Procedure Rules Practice Direction 16
Implied duty of good faith in relational contracts
Bates v Post Office Ltd (No.3: Common Issues) [2019] EWHC 606 (QB)
Summary judgment should not be granted unless the court is certain the claim is bound to fail; consideration of evidence reasonably expected at trial.
Easyair Limited v Opal Telecom Limited [2009] EWHC 339 (Ch); A C Ward & Son Ltd v Catlin (Five) Ltd [2009] EWCA Civ 1098; Swain v Hillman [2001] 1 All E.R. 91; ED & F Man Liquid Products Ltd v Patel [2003] EWCA Civ 472; Royal Brompton Hospital NHS Trust v Hammond [2001] EWCA Civ 550; Doncaster Pharmaceuticals Group Limited v Bolton Pharmaceutical Company [2007] FSR 3; ICI Chemicals & Polymers Ltd v TTE Training Limited [2007] EWCA Civ 725
Outcomes
Application for summary judgment and/or strike out refused.
The court found that while the claimant's case is weak, it has a real prospect of success, particularly given the missing documentation and potential for further disclosure. Amendments to the Particulars of Claim were ordered to clarify certain aspects.