 | Law Template‑class | ||||||
| |||||||
Why these cases? edit
Together these twelve cases explain an awful lot of contract law.
- Smith v Hughes (1871) LR 6 QB 597, agreement is objectively assessed and mistakes are irrelevant.
- Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co [1892] EWCA Civ 1, contracts require a meeting of the minds, and there should be a good consideration for the court to uphold the agreement.
- Taylor v Caldwell [1896] AC 325, contracts should not be upheld if their performance was always, or subsequently proved to be impossible.
- Hong Kong Fir Shipping Co Ltd v Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd [1962] 2 QB 26, a court may determine which clauses create the right to terminate or not.
- D & C Builders Ltd v Rees [1965] 2 QB 617, contracts should be freely entered into. This also contains an obiter dicta on the redundancy of consideration in variation of agreements.
- Liverpool CC v Irwin [1968] 1 WLR 1204, contracts require specific default terms, based on the nature of the relationship between the parties. Courts imply these as they think reasonable.
- Lloyds Bank Ltd v Bundy [1975] QB 326, contracts will not be upheld if they involve an imbalance of bargaining power.
- Esso Petroleum Co Ltd v Mardon [1976] QB 108, contracts should be entered with fully informed consent. The duty is on the person giving information to ensure it is correct.
- George Mitchell Ltd v Finney Lock Seeds Ltd [1983] QB 284, courts do not need to resort to strained interpretations in order to take away onerous clauses, when statute allows it explicitly.
- Interfoto v Stiletto [1989] QB 433, contracts should be entered into with fully informed consent. The more onerous the clause, the greater notice must be given.
- Farley v Skinner [2001] UKHL 49, if contracts are breached, you should be put back in the position as if it had been performed properly, including non-pecuniary expectations.
- The Achilleas [2008] UKHL 48, if contracts are breached, unless otherwise stated in the agreement, damages will match the measure of reasonable market expectations.
We have here cases on formation, mistakes, interpretation, implied terms, incorporation, statutory regulation, termination, impossibility, compensatory damages, misrepresentation and iniquitous pressure.