swarb.co.uk - law index
These cases are from the lawindexpro database. They are now being transferred to the swarb.co.uk website in a better form. As a case is published there, an entry here will link to it. The swarb.co.uk site includes many later cases.
Consumer - From: 1997 To: 1997
This page lists 28 cases, and was prepared on 20 May 2019.
Sonicare International Limited v East Anglia Freight Terminal Limited [1997] 2 Lloyds Rep 48
1997
Judge Hallgarten QC
Contract, Consumer
When looking at the reasonableness of a clause limiting rather than excluding of liability, the size of the limit compared with other limits in widely used standard terms may be relevant.
Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977
1 Citers
The National Home Loans Corporation v HannahRahman [1997] CCLR 7
1997
Consumer
The borrower had first borrowed money on mortgage (the 1989 loan) to pay off an existing third party mortgage (as well as raising additional funds) and later paid off the new mortgage as part of the process of substituting that mortgage for a different one from the same lender. One issues was whether the 1989 loan agreement should be construed as falling into parts, so as to engage section 18(1)(a). Held: The 1989 loan was an integrated package which could not be split up without altering its essential character and that section 18(1)(a) did not therefore apply.
Consumer Credit Act 1974 18
1 Citers
Skipsredittforeningen v Emperor Navigation SA [1997] 2 BCLC 398; [1998] 1 Lloyd's Rep 66
1997
Mance J
Banking, Consumer
The claimant sought summary judgement for sums due under a loan agreement that provided, inter alia: "All payments to be made by or on behalf of the Borrowers pursuant to this Agreement . . shall be made without (a) set-off". The defendant submitted that this clause was unreasonable under UCTA. Held. Mance J rejected this submission holding that the clause was fair and reasonable. In his view "[s]uch a clause in a loan facility like the present is generally familiar, sensible and understandable".
Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 4(1)
1 Citers
John Coupe (County Trading Standards Officer on Behalf of Bedfordshire County Council) v Stephen John Bush [1997] EWHC Admin 76
28 Jan 1997
Admn
Consumer
[ Bailii ]
Anglo Leasing Plc v Pascoe and Another [1997] EWCA Civ 895
31 Jan 1997
CA
Consumer
[ Bailii ]
Kristina Sheffield v Pickfords Limited and Pickfords Removals Limited Times, 17 March 1997; [1997] EWCA Civ 984
11 Feb 1997
CA
The Master Of The Rolls, (Lord Woolf), Lord Justice Thorpe, Sir Ralph Gibson
Contract, Consumer
The defendants had contracted to transport goods for the plaintiff. The goods had been left at empty premises and were damaged or stolen. The defendant sought to rely upon their clause excluding liability. Held: The reasonableness of a standard contract term was best pleaded by the proponent of it. "There is much to be said in favour of a requirement that when a contractor such as the defendants seeks to rely on a contractual exemption clause against a consumer, he must include in his pleading at least a general averment that the term relied upon satisfies the requirement of reasonableness." and "the effect of Section 11(5) is to place the onus squarely on the defendants to show that they satisfy the requirement of reasonableness when it is relevant for them to do so. "
Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 11(5)
1 Citers
[ Bailii ]
Lewin v Truebell Plc; Admn 24-Mar-1997 - [1997] EWHC Admin 312
Sargent v GRE (UK) Limited; CA 16-Apr-1997 - Times, 25 April 1997; [1997] EWCA Civ 1414
Dunlop v First National Bank Plc [1997] EWCA Civ 1451
18 Apr 1997
CA
Consumer
[ Bailii ]
Airey v Computer Services; CA 18-Apr-1997 - [1997] EWCA Civ 1450
Economides v Commercial Union Assurance Co Plc; CA 22-May-1997 - Times, 27 June 1997; [1997] EWCA Civ 1754; [1998] QB 587
Commission v Belgium C-313/96 [1997] EUECJ C-313/96
29 May 1997
ECJ
Consumer
(Judgment) Member States - Obligations - Implementation of directives - Failure to fulfil obligations not contested (EC Treaty, Art. 169)
Commission Directive 91/410/EEC
[ Bailii ]
Commission v France C-282/96; [1997] EUECJ C-282/96
29 May 1997
ECJ
Consumer, Environment
(Judgment) Member States - Obligations - Implementation of directives - Failure to fulfil obligations not contested (EC Treaty, Art. 169)
[ Bailii ]
Commission v United Kingdom (Judgment) Times, 23 June 1997; (1997) 3 CMLR 923; [1997] EUECJ C-300/95
29 May 1997
ECJ
Consumer
The UK provision in the 1987 Act did not conflict with the EC Directive on liability for defective products; there was an overriding provision as to interpretation.
Europa Approximation of laws - Liability for defective products - Directive 85/374 - Defence to liability - Condition - State of scientific and technical knowledge not such as to enable the defect to be discovered - Concept - National implementing provision - Infringement not made out - In order for a producer to incur liability for defective products under Directive 85/374, the victim does not have to prove that the producer was at fault; however, in accordance with the principle of fair apportionment of risk between the injured person and the producer set forth in the seventh recital in the preamble to the directive, the producer has a defence if he can prove certain facts exonerating him from liability, including `that the state of scientific and technical knowledge at the time when he put the product into circulation was not such as to enable the existence of the defect to be discovered'. Whilst the producer has to prove that the objective state of scientific and technical knowledge, including the most advanced level of such knowledge, without any restriction as to the industrial sector concerned, was not such as to enable the existence of the defect to be discovered, in order for the relevant knowledge to be successfully pleaded as against the producer, that knowledge must have been accessible at the time when the product in question was put into circulation. A national implementing provision to the effect that the producer has a defence if he can prove that the state of such knowledge was `not such that a producer of products of the same description as the product in question might be expected to have discovered the defect if it had existed in his products while they were under his control' is not manifestly contrary to that Community rule. The argument that such national provision permits account to be taken of the subjective knowledge of a producer taking reasonable care, having regard to the standard precautions taken in the industrial sector in question, selectively stresses particular terms used in the provision without demonstrating that the general legal context of the provision at issue fails effectively to secure full application of the directive.
Consumer Protection Act 1987 4(1)(c) 1(1) - Council Directive 85/374/EEC - Directive 85/374/EEC
1 Citers
[ Bailii ]
MGN Limited v Northamptonshire County Council [1997] EWHC Admin 536
9 Jun 1997
Admn
Consumer, Media, Crime
Consumer Protection Act 1987 20(1)
[ Bailii ]
Julian Hodge Bank Ltd v Malcolm John Hall [1997] EWCA Civ 1852
12 Jun 1997
CA
Contract, Consumer
Consumer Credit Act 1974 90(1)(b)
[ Bailii ]
Francesco Benincasa v Dentalkit Srl Times, 13 October 1997; C-269/95; [1997] EUECJ C-269/95; [1997] ECR 1-3767
3 Jul 1997
ECJ
Consumer, European
A contract which forms a part of the customer's arrangements for pursuing his trade or profession is not a consumer contract and a choice of jurisdiction clause in a distribution agreement was valid.
Europa In the context of the specific regime established by Article 13 et seq. of the Convention of 27 September 1968 on jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters, only contracts concluded for the purpose of satisfying an individual's own needs in terms of private consumption come under the provisions designed to protect the consumer as the party deemed to be the weaker party economically. On the other hand, the specific protection sought to be afforded by those provisions is unwarranted in the case of contracts for the purpose of trade or professional activity, even if that activity is only planned for the future, since the fact that an activity is in the nature of a future activity does not divest it in any way of its trade or professional character. It follows that the regime in question applies solely to contracts concluded outside and independently of any trade or professional activity or purpose, whether present or future, so that a plaintiff who has concluded a contract with a view to pursuing a trade or profession, not at the present time, but in the future may not be regarded as a consumer within the meaning of the first paragraph of Article 13 and the first paragraph of Article 14 of the Convention. 4 Article 17 of the Convention of 27 September 1968 on jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgments and civil and commercial matters sets out to designate, clearly and precisely, a court in a Contracting State which is to have exclusive jurisdiction in accordance with the consensus formed between the parties, which is to be expressed in accordance with the strict requirements as to form laid down therein. The legal certainty which that provision seeks to secure could easily be jeopardized if one party to the contract could frustrate that rule simply by claiming that the whole of the contract which contained the clause was void on grounds derived from the applicable substantive law. It follows that the court of a Contracting State which is designated in a jurisdiction clause validly concluded under the first paragraph of Article 17 also has exclusive jurisdiction where the action seeks in particular a declaration that the contract containing that clause is void. Furthermore, it is for the national court to determine which disputes fall within the scope of the clause conferring jurisdiction invoked before it and, consequently, to determine whether that clause also covers any dispute relating to the validity of the contract containing it.
Brussels Convention
1 Citers
[ Bailii ]
Eurocopy Rentals Limited v Michael Pascoe [1997] EWCA Civ 2113
16 Jul 1997
CA
Consumer, Litigation Practice
Consumer Credit act 1974 15
1 Cites
[ Bailii ]
Badische Erfrischungs-Getranke v Land Baden-Wurttemberg C-17/96; [1997] EUECJ C-17/96
17 Jul 1997
ECJ
European, Consumer
ECJ Judgment - Natural mineral water - Definition - Water favourable to health
[ Bailii ]
MGN Ltd v Ritters; QBD 30-Jul-1997 - Times, 30 July 1997
Antonelli v Secretary of State for Trade and Industry; CA 31-Jul-1997 - Gazette, 17 September 1997; Times, 03 October 1997; [1997] EWCA Civ 2282; [1998] QB 948
Provincia autonoma di Trento and Ufficio del medico provinciale di Trento v Dega C-83/96; [1997] EUECJ C-83/96
17 Sep 1997
ECJ
European, Consumer
(Judgment) Consumer protection - Labelling of foodstuffs - Council Directive 79/112/EEC
Council Directive 79/112/EEC
[ Bailii ]
Anglo Leasing Plc v Michael K Pascoe and Michael a P Harris (Formerly Trading As Harris Pascoe) [1997] EWCA Civ 2366
25 Sep 1997
CA
Consumer
The defendant sought leave to appeal against an order for payment of sums due under a leasing agreement. He said that the contract was governed by the 1974 and 1977 Acts.
Consumer Credit Act 1974 61 62 63 - Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977
Surrey County Council, Denard v Burton Retail Limited Times, 19 November 1997; [1997] EWHC Admin 889
16 Oct 1997
Admn
Consumer
A retailer is responsible for a false price ticket error even though affixed by someone else before arrived in shop.
Consumer Protection Act 1987 20
[ Bailii ]
Inspirations East Limited v Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council [1997] EWHC Admin 1000
11 Nov 1997
Admn
Consumer, Crime
[ Bailii ]
Gaisiance and African Children's Society v Commissioner of Police for Metropolis and Rover Finance Limited [1997] EWCA Civ 2703
12 Nov 1997
CA
Police, Financial Services, Consumer
[ Bailii ]
Harwood T/A RSBS Group v Smith and Smith and Bedwell Watts and Company (a Firm); CA 14-Nov-1997 - Times, 08 December 1997; [1997] EWCA Civ 2725; [1998] 1 EGLR 5
Wadham Kenning Motor Group Limited v Brighton and Hove Council (the Successor In Title the East Sussex County Council) [1997] EWHC Admin 1084
3 Dec 1997
Admn
Consumer, Crime
[ Bailii ]
