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James v Smith: CA 1931

The defendant, the owner of a hotel, wrote a letter to the plaintiff, an estate agent, saying that it would sell the property at a specified price and would pay a commission if the property was sold at that price. The plaintiff introduced a purchaser who signed a contract but was unable to complete. The plaintiff nevertheless claimed that he was entitled to his commission. The Court of Appeal, reversing the trial judge, found he was not. Bankes LJ reasoned that it was necessary to imply a term to make the contract complete, that term being that the commission would be payable upon the introduction of a purchaser who agreed to purchase the property and was able to complete; in other words, a purchaser who was not a man of straw or without means. Scrutton and Atkin LJJ agreed. Scrutton LJ construed the wording of the agreement and identified the minimum obligation on the plaintiff. Atkin LJ approached the case in much the same way as Bankes LJ. He too thought the obligation on the plaintiff had to be implied, and it was to introduce a purchaser who was able to complete at the time he signed the contract.

[1931] 2 KB 317
England and Wales
Cited by:
CitedWells v Devani SC 13-Feb-2019
Mr W was selling apartments in a block of flats. Mr D, an estate agent, sought commission. W argued that D had not had signed his terms, and that therefore no contract existed. The court considered whether a contract had come into being when a major . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Contract

Updated: 12 January 2022; Ref: scu.670954

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