Member Article

Message received?

With Watson Burton LLPCommunications technology has come a long way. Not too long ago, letters were the only way to communicate. Now it is common for firms to correspond by e-mail. Readers with responsibility for entering into contracts on their company’s behalf will know that a lot of legal agreements can require the service of notices or documents at certain times to the other party, which raises the question: can they be sent by email instead of by post? A recent High Court judgment highlights some of the pitfalls in doing so. In Bernuth Lines Limited –v- High Seas Shipping Limited there was a disagreement over the chartering of a ship. High Seas Shipping sent an e-mail to Bernuth Lines inviting it to settle the dispute by arbitration. A lot of important documentation regarding the dispute, including communications from the arbitrator, were sent to the same e-mail address, ‘info@bernuth.com’. High Seas Shipping didn’t get this email address from a person at Bernuth Lines; they found it in Lloyd’s Maritime Directory, an important publication, and on Bernuth’s website along with its postal address. The person in control of that email account thought the e-mails were spam and ignored them.It was held by the Court that the relevant documents had been served on the other side and the fact that the employee receiving the documents did not appreciate their significance did not mean that service was invalid. There are a number of points from this case that can be applied to all businesses: · Make sure that all your contact details, in your brochures or website and in any publications, are up to date. · If you are sending a document, confirm with the recipient that it is acceptable to send it by e-mail and make sure that you send it to the correct address. Evidence that the email reached its destination (such as sent or read receipts) might be useful in case of any dispute. · If you are negotiating a contract, make sure that any provisions about serving a notice also state how that notice is to be served, such as by registered post. · Make sure that all of your staff (including receptionists, secretaries, IT staff and those responsible for e-mail accounts) are aware that important documents, or what might appear to be important documents, are directed to the appropriate officer of the company – it is no excuse if a junior member of staff destroys an important document in error.If you have a query about this article or any other business matter, contact Thomas Randall on thomas.randall@watsonburton.com.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .