THE LAW OF CONTRACT

The law of Contract



The law of Contract

(a) Illustrate and explain this statement

“ Though mistakes mean disappointment, even bitter disappointment, this is not a ground for relief from contractual burdens.”

Ans. The statement explains that when we are not aware about anything and we find it interesting or anything offered for sale that we find attractive in anyway based on preferance or liking and we form a contract. It will be important for the contract to be fullfilled rather than the repercussions that a party will have to face either in a situation of disappointment or fullfillment. Once a contract is formed, it will be the contract that is more important rather than the experience.

(b) Over dinner at Peter's house, John admires a pair of candlesticks. Peter, in conversation says that they have been in the family for a hundred years and that they are Georgian. A few days later, John offers to buy the candlesticks for £7,000 and Peter accepts. Six months later, John discovers that they are Victorian and worth only £1,000.

Advise John of any remedies against Peter.

Ans. Referring to the scenario although John has purchased the candlesticks after liking it still the sale of goods act, 1979 which governs whether there is a lack of conformity with the contract, says that: P Goods should match any description given to them; P Goods should be of satisfactory quality i.e. they should meet the standard a reasonable person would regard as satisfactory, taking account of any description of the goods, the price (if relevant) and all other relevant circumstances; P The quality of goods includes their state and condition and the following (among others) are, in appropriate cases, aspects of the quality of goods - (a) fitness for all the purposes for which goods of the kind in question are commonly supplied; (b) appearance and finish; (c) freedom from minor defects; (d) safety; and (e) durability. P Goods should be reasonably fit for any particular purpose that was made known to the retailer (unless the retailer disputed their appropriateness for that purpose at the time). If a dish is described as ovenproof but shatters when used under the normal conditions for making a casserole it would have been misdescribed and so would not conform to contract. If someone buys a self-assembly wardrobe and a panel is missing then the goods are incomplete and would not conform to the contract. Description In practice nearly every transaction involves a description of some kind. Even where the customer selects goods without assistance, as in a self-service store, that is usually still a sale by description - for example, that on the label. When someone is supplied with goods and he relies on the description given of them, the goods must be as described. For example, a car described as a 2003 registered 1200cc car must have been registered in that year and be of that capacity.

With reference to what Lord Justice Bingham had said in Watts ...