A letter discussed first the writer’s proposed purchase of the house (offering andpound;1,350 subject to contract), and continued: ‘The question of outstanding rent can be settled as a separate agreement as soon as you present your account.’
Held: The letter did not to constitute an acknowledgment of the landlord’s claim for rent.
Lord Denning MR said that the sentence meant ‘there may be some rent outstanding and it can be made the subject of an agreement as soon as you present your account’ and concluded: ‘Such being the meaning of it, I am quite satisfied there is no acknowledgment, because there is no admission of any rent of a defined amount due, or of any amount that can be ascertained by calculation. The amount is uncertain altogether. Nor can I regard it as a promise to pay whatever amount may be found due on taking an account. The tenant clearly reserves the right to examine it and not to be bound except by separate agreement.’
Davies LJ thought that ‘the letter did not acknowledge the claim; it only acknowledged that there might be a claim.’
Danckwerts LJ regarded the letter as ‘merely . . . an admission that there may be some possible justified claim but no admission that there is such a debt in fact.’
Judges:
Lord Denning MR, Danckwerts LJ, Davies LJ
Citations:
[1963] 2 QB 418
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Applied – Dungate v Dungate CA 1965
A claim was made against the widow and administratrix of the deceased’s estate by his surviving brother. The widow wrote to the creditor: ‘Keep a check on totals and amounts I owe you and we will have account now and then . . .Sorry I cannot do you . .
Cited – Bradford and Bingley Plc v Rashid HL 12-Jul-2006
Disapplication of Without Prejudice Rules
The House was asked whether a letter sent during without prejudice negotiations which acknowledged a debt was admissible to restart the limitation period. An advice centre, acting for the borrower had written, in answer to a claim by the lender for . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Limitation, Contract
Updated: 15 July 2022; Ref: scu.243132