A quantity of American storage eggs of a specified brand were bought, c.i.f., to Glasgow and/or Liverpool to be delivered in three equal instalments, payment to be cash against documents on arrival of the goods. The buyers accepted the documents tendered and paid cash for the first instalment on its arrival. On the arrival of the second instalment they refused to take up the documents and pay the price until they had had an opportunity of examining the eggs. They thereafter brought an action of damages for breach of contract against the sellers, in which they averred that the first instalment was not of the brand specified and was largely unmerchantable, that the sellers had refused to allow them to inspect the second instalment before accepting the documents and paying the price, and that that instalment also was unmerchantable. They further averred that no proper policy of insurance had been tendered. Subsequently the pursuers wrote to the defenders stating that they (the pursuers) rescinded the contract in respect that it had been repudiated by the defenders. The defenders denied repudiation, and in defence to the action pleaded, inter alia, that the dispute fell to be referred to arbitration under a clause in the contract which provided-‘Any dispute on this contract to be settled by arbitration in the usual way.’ Held ( affirming the judgment of the First Division) that the pursuers’ averments did not disclose that the defenders had repudiated the contract as a whole, to the effect that the contract, including the arbitration clause, was at an end, and accordingly that the action fell to be sisted in order that the dispute might be referred to arbitration.
Examination (per Lord Dunedin) of the law of Scotland with regard to clauses of arbitration in contracts and their effects.
‘I should say a single word as to the case of Jureidini. That case has in my view no application, for the simple reason that the clause of reference there was not a reference of all disputes, but only a reference as to the evaluation of loss. In other words, the clause was not a clause of the universal sort . .’ (Lord Dunedin)
Viscount Haldane, Viscount Finlay, Lord Dunedin, Lord Shaw, and Lord Sumner
1922 SC (HL) 117, [1922] UKHL 268, 59 SLR 268
Bailii
Scotland
Citing:
Explained – Jureidini v National British and Irish Millers Insurance Company Limited HL 1915
An insurance company disputed liability of a claim arising out of a fire, alleging fraud and arson. These allegations were not sustained. The insurer then sought to resist liability on the basis that, by litigating, the insured was in breach of an . .
Cited by:
Cited – Super Chem Products Limited v American Life and General Insurance Company Limited and Others PC 12-Jan-2004
PC (Trinidad and Tobago) A fire occurred at premises in which the stock was insured under two policies. Both insurers denied the claims alleging arson, and that it was out of time. The claimant said that the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 06 September 2021; Ref: scu.632805
