The Supreme Court has allowed Muller's appeal against the Court of Appeal's decision. The Court of Appeal had decided that there was no contract between the parties in circumstances where RTS had delivered and installed two productions lines at Muller's factory and Muller had paid RTS over £1m. The Court of Appeal had said that there was no contract because the parties had not signed the contract that they had negotiated. The Supreme Court re-stated the principles to be applied in circumstances where work had been carried out but there was a dispute as to whether a contract existed.
Applying those principles, the Court held that a contract had been concluded. The decision is important because disputes about contract formation in circumstances where work has been performed are common and this is the first time in many decades that the issues has been considered at final appellant level.
Kenneth MacLean Q.C. and Michael Fealy appeared on behalf of the Appellants.