Issue 6(a) – Has Volumatic come to court with clean hands by reason of it allegedly conducting its relationship with IFL as if the Agreement were not binding on it?
62.The specific performance sought by Volumatic is an equitable remedy, which requires the party seeking it to come to court with clean hands. I can also deal with this issue briefly. IFL relies on the same factual matrix as pleaded in relation to estoppel by convention to say that Volumatic has unclean hands. 63.Had I found that the Agreement was binding and that estoppel by convention did not prevent its enforcement, I would have found that Volumatic was disentitled to specific performance, because it conducted its relationship with IFL as if the Agreement were not binding, for the same reasons I have set out above in relation to estoppel by convention.
- Mr David Stone (sitting as an Enterprise Judge):
- Volumatic
- Agreement
- Pouch
- List of Issues
- Witnesses
- Background
- Warwick Meeting
- Legal Principles
- Preliminary Point
- Issue 1(a) – Did the parties have an intention to create legal relations in relation to the Agreement (alternatively Stages 2 and 3 of the Agreement)?
- Issue 1(b) – Was the Agreement sufficiently certain for it to be legally binding?
- Issue 2 – Is Volumatic estopped by convention from asserting that the Agreement (alternatively stages 2 and 3 of the Agreement) is binding?
- Issue 3 – Was the Agreement varied?
- Issue 4 – On a proper construction of the Agreement, have the conditions for assignment been satisfied?
- Issue 5 – If the conditions precedent were satisfied, did Volumatic satisfy them within a reasonable time?
- Issue 6(a) – Has Volumatic come to court with clean hands by reason of it allegedly conducting its relationship with IFL as if the Agreement were not binding on it?
- Issue 6(b) – Has Volumatic come to court with unclean hands by reason of its alleged precontractual misrepresentations?
- Issue 6(c) – Has Volumatic has come to court with unclean hands by reason of its failure to comply with its own obligations under the Agreement (including whether IFL acquiesced to the same and/or whether IFL is estopped from asserting otherwise)
- Issue 8 – Does IFL have a defence of laches?
- Issue 10 – Should the court refuse specific performance on the discretionary grounds that: (a) IFL has allegedly conducted itself on the basis that Stages 2 and 3 of the Agreement were not binding; (b) IFL has improved the Pouch at the request of Volumatic; (c) Volumatic has allegedly not complied with its own obligations under the Agreement; and/or (d) delay
- Issue 7 – Would it be inequitable to order specific performance?
- Issue 12 – Should the court order specific performance of the Agreement?
- Issue 11 – Does IFL hold the intellectual property rights in the Pouch on trust for Volumatic?
- Issue 13 – Should the Court order damages in lieu of specific performance?
- Issue 9 – Is the claim for damages statute barred?
- Issue 15 – Should IFL be ordered to grant Volumatic exclusive rights to use any know-how in respect of the Pouch?
- Conclusions