14 - Performance & Breach Flashcards
Case Authority for Full Performance - Entire Contracts
Cutter v Powell
Facts
-
Held
Exceptions to the Rule in Cutter v Powell (entire contract - full performance doctrine)
- Severable & Divisible Contracts
- > In These the defaulting Party will be paid for the work actually done
- De Minimus Non Curat Lex
- > Doctrine that the court will not concern itself with trifle matters, meaning that if it is a minimal matter it will not be considered fair to question the full performance of the contract
- Part Performance
- > Once the innocent party accept partial performance they will not be able to sue for full performance later on.
Repudiatory Breach
A repudiatory breach is a breach that the law regards as sufficiently serious to justify termination
Anticipatory Breach
An anticipatory breach of contract, also known as an anticipatory repudiation, is when one party in a contract indicates that he or she will not perform this or her contractual obligations. Words or actions (conduct) can both show that the party will fail to hold up his or her end of the contract as promised…
Arcos v EA Ronaasen & Son [1933] AC 470
Right to reject goods under a contract of sale
-
Issue
The question arose as to whether the buyer had the right to reject goods that do not conform to specifications within the contract for sale, yet are commercially within and merchantable under the contract’s description.
Held
The Court held that a buyer in a contract for sale has the right to demand goods of certain specifications and is not, accordingly, bound to accept goods that do not conform to contractual specifications merely due to them being merchantable or commercially equivalent to that specification. Rather, the goods must conform to the specifications to which the parties have agreed and the contract cannot be constructed as to add a qualification of commercial equivalence that is not otherwise stipulated. On the facts, the contract for timber wood provided no elasticity in its terms and expressly specified the thickness of the wood. As the staves of wood did not conform to the contractual requirements, despite the possibility of their commercial equivalence and merchantability under the contract, the buyer had the right to reject the goods.
Statute Authority for Strict performance?
Sale of Goods Act 1979 (SS. 13-15)
Intermediate/Innominate terms
In English contract law, an innominate term is an intermediate term which cannot be defined as either a “condition” or a “warranty”.[1]
In Hong Kong Fir Shipping Co Ltd v Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd (1962 2 QB 26) the Court of Appeal of England and Wales first conceived the notion of an “innominate term”. This was followed in the case of The Mihalis Angelos (1971 1 QB 174).
When does anticipatory breach occure in terms of time
Anticipatory breach occurs when, before a performance is due, a party either renounces the contract or disables himself from performing it.