FARM NEWS 5
• FEB/MAR 2019
MANUFACTURE AND SUPPLY OF AGRI-
TECH - WHEN THINGS GO WRONG
It is not hard to predict that those British farmers who innovate will be better placed to deal with the
challenges both post-Brexit and longer term. Many farmers will be keen to invest in software and hardware
agri-tech to support innovation on farms - encouraged by the influence of a younger farming generation
of digital natives. This provides a solid market base for agri-tech companies both large and small.
BUT what happens when
things go wrong? As a supplier,
hardware and software faults
will happen, but what makes a
difference (to the reputational
and financial impact) is how you
deal with those issues - and a
good place to start is equipping
yourself with some of the legal
basics.
Consumers have enhanced
legal rights in response to faulty
goods or services, but usually if
you supply to a farmer, it will be
deemed a 69945
business
to business
- BelmontRegencyLtd - HALF.pdf
1
transaction. The comments in the
article assume there is a business
to business relationship.
The first step is to identify the
contractual terms - this is a legal
issue, and may not be as straight
forward as you think. Did you use
standard or bespoke terms? Were
those terms incorporated into the
contract? Were the purchaser’s
terms incorporated instead? You
(or your lawyers) will need to
complete a factual investigation to
ascertain whether any terms were
incorporated, and which terms
apply.
04/04/2018 14:29:21
You will then be able to get an
idea of your rights as a manufac-
turer/supplier, with respect to the
alleged faulty goods or services.
For example, there might be a
provision allowing you to repair
or replace your product before
having to give a full refund.
Whether or not there are any
written terms related to your
supply contract, legislation implies
terms that goods should be of
satisfactory quality and fit for
purpose, and that services should
be provided with reasonable care
and skill. You could be in breach
of these terms if your hardware/
software is not up to scratch,
and a breach would allow the
purchaser to claim damages for
losses arising in connection with
the fault. If you put exclusions or
limitations of liability into the writ-
ten contractual terms, that might
assist in protecting your position,
however there is legislation (the
Unfair Contract Terms Act) which
requires those provisions to be
reasonable, otherwise they can
be deemed void.
Where the agri-tech is crucial or
detrimental to the purchaser’s key
business operations, the damages
which can be claimed may be
substantial (and in which case, a
timely resolution of the dispute
will often benefit all sides).
We are always interested in
meeting our agricultural contacts
on site to see what you are doing
to innovate your business and
how we can help you.
Joanne Saye is an Associate in
the Commercial Dispute Resolu-
tion Team, specialising in disputes
within the agricultural sector.
[email protected] / 0117 321 8037
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