The alleged false trade description was that a car supplied to a garage was ‘new’, as ordered from Fords.
Held: (Appeal allowed on other grounds) The effect of the order was that Parkway was seeking the supply from Fords of a ‘new vehicle’. The car that was supplied had in fact earlier been damaged whilst in the care of Fords’ forwarding agents: ‘… we have reached the conclusion that in the terms of the statute this was a request made by Parkway to Fords which gave an indirect indication that the trade description ‘new’ was applied to the car which Parkway requested Fords to deliver, and that being so the second part of Section 4(3) was in our judgment similarly satisfied by the evidence, that is to say, the circumstances was such as to make it reasonable to infer that the goods supplied pursuant to that request were supplied as goods corresponding to that trade description; and it follows, therefore, that Fords as the person supplying the goods in accordance with Section 4(3) are deemed to have applied that trade description to the goods.’ It had been argued about whether or not implied terms could constitute trade descriptions: ‘This seems to us to go much too far; it would be very startling, for instance, the effect of the Act of 1968 were to make a criminal of every seller of goods by description who delivers goods ‘in breach of the condition of merchantable quality which is implied by section 14(2) of the Sale of Goods Act 1893.’
Judges:
Bridge J
Citations:
[1974] 1 WLR 1221
Statutes:
Trade Descriptions Act 1968 4(3)
Cited by:
Cited – Shropshire County Council (David Walker) v Simon Dudley Limited Admn 17-Dec-1996
A customer’s description of the goods he required was a trade description for the future supply of those goods by the seller claiming to fulfil that specification. The trading standards officer appealed dismissal of his prosecution of the defendant . .
Cited – Louis C Edwards (Manchester) Limited v Charles Miller CA 1981
A local County Council asked for tenders for meat. It specified the maximum depth of subcutaneous fat of pork. A school cook ordered pork without making any reference to the depth of the fat. A quantity of pork was thereafter delivered. The pork did . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Consumer
Updated: 06 May 2022; Ref: scu.194021