The parties contracted for the sale and purchase of two Chine Vases. The seller did not complete, and the buyer sought specific performance.
Held: A purchaser of ‘articles of unusual beauty rarity and distinction’ was entitled to obtain them in specie. The Court will enforce specific performance of a contract to purchase chattels, if damages will not be an adequate compensation: ‘a mere compensation in damages is not a sufficient remedy and satisfaction for the loss of the performance of the contract’.
But where the contract, although not actually fraudulent, was one in which the parties were not on an equal footing, the Plaintiff knowing, and the purchaser being ignorant, of the value of the thing sold, and the price appeared to be inadequate, the Court refused relief.
Kindersley V-C
[1859] EngR 710, (1859) 4 Drew 651, (1859) 62 ER 250
Commonlii
England and Wales
Updated: 30 July 2021; Ref: scu.288062