Karsales (Harrow) Ltd v Wallis: CA 12 Jun 1956

The Court considered an exemption clause: ‘Notwithstanding earlier cases which might suggest the contrary, it is now settled that exempting clauses of this kind, no matter how widely they are expressed, only avail the party when he is carrying out his contract in its essential respects. He is not allowed to use them as a cover for misconduct or indifference or to enable him to turn a blind eye to his obligations. They do not avail him when he is guilty of a breach which goes to the root of the contract’
Lord Denning MR
[1956] EWCA Civ 4, [1956] 2 All ER 866, [1956] 1 WLR 936
Bailii
England and Wales
Cited by:
CriticisedPhoto Production Ltd v Securicor Transport Ltd HL 14-Feb-1980
Interpretation of Exclusion Clauses
The plaintiffs had contracted with the defendants for the provision of a night patrol service for their factory. The perils the parties had in mind were fire and theft. A patrol man deliberately lit a fire which burned down the factory. It was an . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 13 October 2021; Ref: scu.262834