The plaintiff purchased from the defendant at auction a heifer which was described in the sale catalogue as ‘unserved’. Later, having been found to be in calf, she died as a result of carrying it at too young an age.
Held: The description of the heifer as unserved constituted a condition of the contract.
A collateral contract can override an exemption clause framed in general terms.
Scott LJ said: ‘as a matter of law, I think every item in a description which constitutes a substantial ingredient in the ‘identity’ of the thing sold is a condition . . ‘
Scott, Tucker, Bucknill LJJ
[1947] KB 554, [1947] 1 All ER 103
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Harlingdon and Leinster Enterprises Ltd v Christopher Hull Fine Art Ltd CA 15-Dec-1989
The defendant auctioneer sold a painting to the plaintiff which turned out to be a forgery. The plaintiff appealed against a finding that it had not relied upon the attribution, saying that there had been a breach of the requirement that the paintig . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Contract
Updated: 05 December 2021; Ref: scu.561151