The Blip Blop Blog (Team Entity)

Misrepresentation is a false statement that has induced another party to enter into a contract. In Curtis v Chemical Cleaning and Dyeing Co. (1951), the plaintiff took her wedding dress into the dry cleaners to be cleaned. She was then asked to sign a document and when she queried the defendants as to the terms in the document, she was told that it exempted the defendants from being liable for the loss of beads or sequins, when in fact the document exempted the defendants from liability for any damage done to the dress. When the plaintiff went to collect her dress, she realized that there was a stain on it that wasn’t there before. The plaintiff brought an action against the defendants and her claim was successful because she was misrepresented as to the nature of the document that she was signing. In most instances or under most circumstances a person is bound by the terms of an agreement he or she has signed, unless of course, there was misrepresentation, fraud or some other s

There are a few factors that influence a court’s decision when it comes to determining if a mistake had been made or otherwise. The mistake must precede the contract i.e. the mistake must be made prior to the contract coming into existence or before the contract is entered into. In Amalgamated Investment & Property Co Ltd v John Walker & Sons Ltd (1977) the seller sold the buyer a warehouse knowing that the buyer intended to redevelop the property. A day later the Department of Environment designated the property a listed building – a mechanism that is used to protect buildings of historic importance or significance. The buyer brought an action in court to render the contract void on the grounds that a mistake had been made. The court held that there was a valid and enforceable contract. At the time the parties entered into the contract neither of the parties knew that the building was to become a listed building. The mistake must have induced the party to enter into the c

Vitiation Vitiation occurs when the parties in a contract reach an agreement based on facts or circumstances that are non-existent for example as in instances of mistake, illegality, duress, undue influence, and misrepresentation. Mistake When deciding whether there has been a mistake or otherwise the courts will apply the objective test and will not look at the matter from the perspective of the contracting parties but rather from the perspective of the man on the Clapham omnibus or the common man. Mistakes can be divided into three different categories: - 1.     Common mistakes 2.     Mutual mistakes 3.     Unilateral mistakes Common Mistakes Common mistakes occur when both the contracting parties make the same mistake. In Griffith v Brymer (1903) the plaintiff had entered into an oral agreement with a landlord to view the coronation procession from the landlord’s premises. The procession did not take place as intended and the plaintiff sought to recover the money

There are four ways in which a contract can come to an end. They are as follows – 1.     When a contract expires or expiration 2.     Termination 3.     Vitiation 4.     Frustration Expiration A contract expires or meets a natural demise when all the terms in the contract have been fulfilled or complied with. Let’s say for example that Alex contracted to supply Fred with 10 tonnes of coal on the 1st of June and the delivery was to be made by the 30th of June. On the 15th of June, Alex delivered 10 tonnes of coal to Fred’s residence and was reimbursed accordingly. The contract has ended or has run its course and no further action needs to be taken by any of the parties in the contract. Termination A contract can be terminated when there has been a breach. A breach of a condition for example allows the innocent party to terminate the contract. A breach of contract can be divided into actual breaches and anticipatory breaches. Actual Breach An actual breach occurs whe

The impact of a term depends on the importance that is attached to it and from the perspective of the courts terms can be either express or implied, oral or written and can be divided into the three following categories: - i) Conditions ii) Warranties iii) Innominate Terms Conditions Conditions are terms of paramount importance. In Poussard v Spiers (1876), the plaintiff an opera singer of some note was contracted by the defended to perform at an opera but a week prior to the opening, she fell ill and the defendants subsequently had her replaced. Once the plaintiff had recovered she contacted the defendants wanting her spot back but the defendants refused stating that the contract had been terminated. The plaintiff sued. The court held that, the plaintiff’s performance on the stipulated date was a condition in the contract and therefore the defendants were entitled to terminate the contract. In Bunge Corp. v Tradax Export SA (1981) the contract concerned the sale and pur

A term may also be implied by custom. In Smith v Wilson (1832) the defendant agreed to lease a rabbit warren, agreeing to pay £60 per thousand rabbits and paid less than what was outstanding. The plaintiff sued and the defendant argued that according to local custom 1,000 rabbits was taken to mean 1,200 rabbits and therefore he wasn’t in arrears. The court found in favor of the defendant. It was implied that at the time of entering into the contract, the parties had acted in accordance with local custom and therefore the defendant had made the correct payment. In Hutton v Warren (1936) the plaintiff was a tenant in the defendant’s fields and had accordingly tilled the fields and sown it with seeds. The tenancy was then terminated prior to the crops being harvested and the defendant, contrary to local custom refused to pay the plaintiff for the cost he’d incurred and for the work he’d done because it was not stipulated in the written agreement. The plaintiff brought an action again

There are certain terms that are implied in a contract by law, especially for public policy reasons. A landlord for example is required to keep his property in a state of good repair. In Liverpool City Council v Irwin (1977) the tenants in a block of flats rented out by the City Council refused to pay the rent because the flats were in a state of disrepair and some of the basic amenities were either not available or were unusable. The council sued for the outstanding rent and in their claim they argued that the duty to keep the flats in good repair was not a term of the contract. The House of Lords held that the landlord (the council) should take reasonable care to ensure that the facilities were kept in a good state of repair and that the terms to do so were implied into the contract. The plaintiffs were unsuccessful in their claim. In Spring v Guardian Assurance Plc. (1994), an employee was about to leave his company and his employer who discovered his employee’s intention to lea

In addition to the express terms that have been agreed to by the parties there may also be additional terms that are read into the contract by the courts. These terms are known as implied terms. There are in essence and substance four types of implied terms. They are as follows: - ·        Terms implied by fact ·        Terms implied by law ·        Terms implied by custom ·        Terms implied by trade usage Terms implied by fact are terms that despite not being included in the contract, are included or read into the contract because the court assumes that the parties must have intended the terms to be part of the contract. In Shirlaw v Southern Foundries (1926), it was held that implied terms are terms that in any contract are left to be implied and need not be expressed, i.e. they are tacit terms. These terms are so obvious that they go without saying and if, while the parties were making their bargain, an officious bystander were to suggest some express provision to