Condition precedent: Difference between revisions

The things you agree to do, or must happen, before the other guy has to do what he said he'd do. Not to be confused with [[consideration]], which is what you give him for doing it.

So: I agree to lend you my car for ten quid, but before I let you have the keys, you must give proof you have insurance. The ten pounds is consideration; the insurance certificate is a [[condition precedent]].

It reminds me of a story from the jolly contrarian's youth. It was decades ago, in the infancy of the credit derivatives market. A partner from Stephenson Harwood (the same one that referenced the [[sw-æp]] and not the [[sw-ŏp]] sent his mark-up of the, er, [[sw-æp]], and rather went to town. Your correspondent’s supervising partner—an excitable fellow that now runs a newsagent in Gillingham—stormed into the room whilst in mid-conversation with the client, a young but quick chap from Dublin.

:“[[Conditions precedent]]?”