The House was asked whether an option to purchase certain land had been validly exercised. The farm assets had been transferred into a company in order to generate cash. Mr Simmers was apparently gven a right for five years to purchase the business. The landowner now appealed against a decision that it had been validly exercised, saying that time should have been held to be of the essence.
Held: The appeal was dismissed. The agreement requiring completion before a certain day was not sufficient to make time of the essence, and indeed the agreement taken as a whole supported this by permitting a notice to exercise the option to be served at any time up to the day before the date supposedly fixed.
Lord Hope of Craighead, Lord Scott of Foscote, Lord Rodger of Earlsferry, Lord Walker of Gestingthorpe, Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury
[2008] UKHL 24, 2008 GWD 13-235, 2008 SC (HL) 137, 2008 SCLR 533, 2008 SLT 407
Bailii, HL
Scotland
Citing:
See Also – Simmers and Others, Re Petition for an Order ScS 4-Apr-2003
. .
See Also – In Petition of Arthur Simmers and others for an Order Under Sec 461 of the Companies Act 1985 In Respect of Scotpigs Limited SCS 24-Apr-2003
. .
See Also – Simmers and others vInnes for an Order Under Section 461 of the Companies Act 1985 OHCS 17-Dec-2003
. .
See Also – Arthur William Simmers v James Grigor Innes OHCS 11-Jul-2005
. .
Appeal from – Simmers v Innes OHCS 2-Feb-2007
The parties disputed whether an option to purchase land had been validly exercised after a dispute as to the means of valuing it.
Held: The option had been validly exercised. . .
Cited – Rodger (Builders) Ltd v Fawdry 1950
Where the owner of land sells it, but, knowing the purchaser not to have registered the title sells it again to a purchaser who then knowingly seeks to register the second transfer, the court will disallow the transfer: ‘offside goals are . .
Cited – United Scientific Holdings v Burnley Borough Council HL 1978
The House was asked whether a failure by a lessor to keep strictly to the timetable laid down in a rent review clause in a lease necessarily deprived the lessor of the benefit of the rent review.
Held: A stipulation as to time in an option . .
Cited – Visionhire Ltd v Britel Fund Trustees Ltd 1991
. .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Land, Contract
Updated: 01 November 2021; Ref: scu.266936