The claimant had supplied clothing to the defendant under a contract containing a retention of title clause. The defendant fell into financial difficulties and administration. The claimant now sought damages for conversion of its goods by the defendant and the administrators. The claimant appealed against an order which found that the defendants had had authority to sell the goods.
Held: The appeal failed. Moore-Bick LJ said: ‘Having regard to the commercial considerations mentioned earlier and to the language of clause 7, I am unable to accept that Jet Star’s authority to sell and dispose of goods subject to the retention of title clause was limited to disposals in what, in the context of a floating charge, could be described as the ordinary course of business. ‘
Judges:
Maurice Kay LJ, Smith LJ, Moore-Bick LJ
Citations:
[2011] EWCA Civ 459
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Driver v Broad 1893
An agreement to create a floating charge counted as an interest in land. Kay LJ said that there was no distinction between a debenture which expressly gives the company liberty to dispose of the charged property ‘in the ordinary course of its . .
Cited – In Re Bond Worth Ltd 1980
The parties disputed the property in goods which had been sold and then gone through successive manufacturing processes. The contract included a retention of title clause. Fibres were converted into manufactured carpets and thus lost their identity . .
Cited – Ashborder Bv and others v Green Gas Power Ltd and others ChD 29-Jun-2004
. .
Cited – Four Point Garage v Carter 1985
A simple retention of title clause was argued to have the effect of preserving title, despite the sale to an ultimate customer. The plaintiff had sold a car to a garage who in turn, it thought was leasing it to the defendant. The defendant was in . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Contract, Torts – Other, Insolvency
Updated: 06 September 2022; Ref: scu.432839