The claimant bought fine art sculptures by Anish Kapoor at auction. They were stored by the defendant who when called upon to deliver them, said they had possibly been thrown away as rubbish. The defendant sought to limit its liability to the sum set by its contract. The defendant said that the claimant had been involved in the art trade and knew of the use of such terms. The claimant said he had not been sent a copy of them.
Held: There was no course of trading between the parties so as to demonstrate that British Crane should be applied and the defendant’s standard terms incorporated. Had the terms been incorporated and the claimant notified, the defendant may have been able to rely on the clause. The evidence was that the work was lost in approximately September 2004, and it should be valued at at date, but consequential damages also awarded for the expected further increase in value to the date of judgment.
[2007] EWHC 541 (QB)
Bailii
Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977, Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999, Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – British Crane Hire v Ipswich Plant Hire CA 13-Nov-1973
Lord Denning MR said: ‘I would not put it so much on the course of dealing, but rather on the common understanding which is to be derived from the conduct of the parties, namely, that the hiring is to be on the terms of the plaintiff’s usual . .
Cited – McCutcheon v David MacBrayne Ltd HL 21-Jan-1964
The appellant had asked his brother-in-law to have a car shipped from Islay to the mainland. The appellant had personally consigned goods on four previous occasions. On three of them he was acting on behalf of his employer; on the other occasion he . .
Cited – Laceys Footwear (Wholesale) Ltd v Bowler International Freight Ltd and Another CA 18-Apr-1997
The defendant’s driver had taken a consignment of shoes to Spain, where they were stolen. The plaintiff alleged his gross negligence amounted to ‘wilful misconduct’ so as to disapply an exemption clause.
Held: Whether a bailee’s acts . .
Cited – Singer Co (UK) Ltd v Tees and Hartlepool Port Authority 1988
The court upheld under the 1977 Act a clause which limited a port authority’s liability to andpound;800 per ton of consignment. Other factors were relevant but ‘The way in which the port authority’s general conditions came into being seems to me to . .
Cited – Frans Maas (Uk) Ltd v Samsung Electronics (Uk) Ltd ComC 30-Jun-2004
A large volume of mobile phones were stolen from a warehouse. The owner claimed damages from the bailee. The defendant said that standard terms applied limiting their responsibility to value calculated by weight.
Held: There was a bailment . .
Cited – Kuwait Airways Corporation v Iraqi Airways Company and Others (Nos 4 and 5) HL 16-May-2002
After the invasion of Kuwait, the Iraqi government had dissolved Kuwait airlines, and appropriated several airplanes. Four planes were destroyed by Allied bombing, and 6 more were appropriated again by Iran.
Held: The appeal failed. No claim . .
Cited – Kuwait Airways Corporation v Iraqi Airways Company and Others (Nos 4 and 5) HL 16-May-2002
After the invasion of Kuwait, the Iraqi government had dissolved Kuwait airlines, and appropriated several airplanes. Four planes were destroyed by Allied bombing, and 6 more were appropriated again by Iran.
Held: The appeal failed. No claim . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Contract, Damages, Consumer
Updated: 10 December 2021; Ref: scu.250625