Bombardier Aerospace defeats customer's attempt to reject aircraft and claim return of approx US$30 million purchase price

Client(s) Bombardier Aerospace

Jones Day represented Bombardier Aerospace in its defense to Air Transworld's claim that the customized Challenger 605 aircraft manufactured and sold by Bombardier was not fit for purpose, of satisfactory quality or in correspondence with description, and defeated Air Transworld's attempt to reject the aircraft and claim the return of the purchase price paid (approx. US$30 million). In his judgment on 20 February 2012 Cooke J held that, properly construed, the aircraft purchase agreement effectively excluded the statutory implied terms that Air Transworld relied on to bring its claim, and found that the agreement was an international supply contract to which the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 did not apply. The Court therefore upheld the commercial bargain made by the parties and held that Air Transworld could not succeed in either its rejection claim or its claim for damages.

Air Transworld Limited v. Bombardier Inc. [2012] EWHC 243 (Comm)(High Court of Justice, Queen's Bench Division, Commercial Court, Court of Appeal (Civil Division))