Contract Terms, UCTA 1977 & the Consumer Rights Act 2015
Contract terms:
parties are bound by contract terms
· Terms are contained in an offer
· When legitimately incorporated into the contract, they govern the obligations of the parties
· Breaching a term of the contract gives rise to being sued for damages
· Terms can be
· Expressed in a contract
· Implied by statute
· Implied by courts
Incorporation by signature
· L’Estrange v Graucob [1934]
· Café owner bought a cigarette vending machine and in the small print it said they are not liable for fault. When the machine failed to work the refused to give her a refund.
· Decision: terms of the agreement were valid
· principle: in the absence of misrepresentation or fraud, signature will incorporate terms into a contract irrespective of whether they are read or understood
incorporation by being implied by statute
· E.g. for business-to-business transactions
· Sale of Goods Act 1979
· s.13 – goods must fit description
· s.14 – satisfactory quality and fit for purpose
· E.g. for business-to-consumer transactions
· Consumer Rights Act 2015
· s.9 / 10 - satisfactory quality and fit for purpose
· s.11 - goods must fit description
incorporation be being implied by courts
· Officious bystander
· Technique for determining if an unexpressed condition was implied at the time a contract was drawn. By an arbitrator or investigator thinking what the reply to the term would be. If the answer is yes, it is implied if they were to say no then it won’t be implied
· Customary
· (its always done like that round here)- custom in law is the established pattern of behaviour that can be objectively verified within a particular social setting. A claim can be carried out in defence of "what has always been done and accepted by law."
· Hutton v Warren (1836)
· Hutton planted seeds and put in labour in the last year of his tenancy. He sought for reasonable payment as he would not see the benefits of his work and he was declined even though he argued it was a customary thing to do
· He was successful as the custom was by implication imported into the lease.
· Business efficacy - the main terms the law will imply into commercial (non-consumer) agreements, that is those "necessary and obvious...to give business efficacy". Terms shall not be implied merely because they appear "desirable and reasonable"
· The Moorcock (1889)
· Implied term that ground would be
safe to moor vessel – term necessary
for the contract to make sense
(parties must have intended that)
Contract terms
Condition: breach of CONDITION entitles the claimant to TERMINATE the contract and/or claim DAMAGES
Poussard v Spiers (1876)
· Actress in opera had a lead role. She was ill and couldn’t attend first performance and the role was given to someone else. She sued for breach of contract
· Held: Condition of the contract was that she attended the first performance, as she was crucial to the importance to the success of the production
· She had breached...
