Andrew Butler KC enjoys further success in latest round of Quantum litigation

The latest judgment in the long-running Quantum dispute has seen further success for Andrew Butler KC’s client, Quantum Actuarial LLP (“the LLP”).

The dispute, or series of disputes, emanates from a 99-year Services Agreement made in 2007 whereby the LLP agreed to take on the business of providing actuarial pension services to the clients of its sister company, Quantum Advisory Ltd. (“Quad”), in return for a share of fees.

Following disputes about the enforceability of restrictive covenants and the entitlement to the use of trademarks, both of which have either gone, or are going, to the Court of Appeal, the parties have found themselves in dispute about whose responsibility it is to carry out client tenders and re-tenders.

Quad commenced proceedings for a declaration that those tasks fell to the LLP, either pursuant to the express terms of the Services Agreement or pursuant to implied obligations of contractual good faith. Andrew successfully resisted that claim in a decision made under case number [2022] EWHC Civ 1423, the dismissal of that claim being subsequently upheld by the Court of Appeal ([2023] EWCA 12). That decision stands as authority for the proposition that the scope of agreements such as the Services Agreement cannot be augmented by recourse to concepts of contractual good faith.

Quad (represented by Jeffery Onions KC and Guy Adams) subsequently sought further declaratory relief recognising that the LLP was at least obliged to cooperate with the tendering process, if not perform it, and repeatedly applied for injunctive relief in relation to certain individual tender exercises pending the hearing of that further claim – applications which the LLP also successfully resisted. In a judgment handed down on 5 June 2023 under Case Number [2023] EWHC 1338 (Ch), HHJ Jarman KC (sitting as a Judge of the High Court) has now also dismissed the substantive underlying claim for this relief too. A copy of the judgment can be found here.

Andrew was instructed by Aisha Wardell and Jared Ursell of Acuity Law.