Case Studies Flashcards
1
Q
Donoghue v Stevenson
law of negligence, duty of care
A
- Donoghue’s friend bought ginger beer, potentially not D’s property
- Snail was found in the drink, caused D illness and shock
- Solicitor claimed £500 in damages & £50 in costs for D
- Stevenson denied all claims, said illness was pre existing, rewarded £108
- Later settled that there should be liability for negligent food production
2
Q
Rylands v Fletcher
tort law
A
- Rylands paid contractors to build reservoir on property
- Contractors discovered mine shafts joining onto Fletcher’s mine, left them instead of blocking them
- Reservoir was filled, flooded the mines causing £937 damages
- Judgement: tort of trespass inapplicable, flood not deemed direct & immediate
- tort of nuisance rejected as well, only contractors liable, not R
3
Q
Bolam v Friern Hospital Management Comittee
tort negligence, Bolam test
A
- Bolam voluntary patient at Friern hospital, agreed to undergo electro-convulsive shock therapy, wasn’t given muscle relaxants or restraints
- Suffered numerous fractures, sued for compensation due to negligence
- Judgement: Jury backed F, medical opinion was in their favour
- Person professing to have professional skill must have higher standard of care
4
Q
Alcock v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire police
tort liability for nervous shock
A
- A concerned psychiatric help after Hillsborough disaster
- 10 relatives of deceased brought negligence claims in tort for psychiatric harm and nervous shock
- Most had not been in close proximity or at physical risk
Judgement: Plaintiffs mostly secondary victims, House of Lords established ‘control mechanisms’ for duty of care to be established
- Claimant must perceive shocking event with own unaided senses
- Claimant must show sufficient proximity i.e. loved one or family
- Shock must be sudden i.e. not gradual depression
- Must be foreseeable that person of ‘normal fortitude would suffer psychiatric damage
5
Q
Dunlop v New Garage & Motor co. LTD
contract law, damages
A
- Dunlop sued New Garage for breach of agreement not to sell tyres for price lower than stipulated in contract
- Agreement said if it happened again, N would pay £5 per tyre ‘by way of liquidated damages not as a penalty’
- Judgement: Judge held £5 was liquidated damages not a penalty
- Genuine pre-estimate of D’s potential loss
- Penalty if stipulated sum is v large compared to greatest conceivable loss
- Penalty when ‘single lump sum made payable by way of compensation on occurrence of one more or all events
6
Q
Carlill V Carbollic Smoke Ball Co.
offer
A
- £100 to offerees who contracted influenza whilst using smoke ball as specified in instructions
- Offer made by advertisement and accepted by persons undertaking the actions
- £1000 placed in bank as statement of intent
- Consideration in the form of pay upon contracting influenza under stipulated conditions
- Unilateral contract
- Settlement of £100 to Mrs Carlill
7
Q
Pharmaceutical Society of GB v Boots Cash Chemist
Offer
A
- Display of product with price attached not sufficient to be considered offer, only invitation to treat
- Society argued that placing item in basket was acceptance, therefore sale to U18’s was permitted, violating Pharmacy & Poisons Act 1933
- Boots countered that sale is effected at the till
Judgement: customer placing goods in basket is an offer to purchase, for the cashier to either accept or decline, no breach of Act
8
Q
Hadly v Baxendale
breach of contract
A
- Breaching party is liable for all losses that the contracting parties should have foreseen, not liable for unseen losses
- Hadly hired Baxendale to deliver broken crankshaft by certain date for £2 sterling
- B failed to deliver causing H to lose business, H sued for lost profit £25
- B countered, not knowing late delivery would cause loss of profit
- Courts settled that H could not reclaim profits as this loss was unforeseeable by B
9
Q
Thornton V Shoe Lane Parking LTD
clause cant be incorporated after contract concluded
A
- Thornton took ticket from car park machine ‘issued subject to conditions of use as displayed on the premises’
- Sign read ‘injury to customer in whatever form, customer is liable’
- T had accident before getting in car, car park argued this should be held in contract, not tort
Judgement: the more onerous the case, the more notice should be given
- Contract was already concluded when ticket was printed, no conditions can be added to contract
10
Q
Victoria Laundry LTD v Newman Industries
remoteness of damages principle
A
- Newman meant to deliver boiler for Victoria, was 5 months late
- V lacked laundry capacity and lost a lucrative contract
- V sued for ordinary profit plus losses due to contract loss
Judgement: only ordinary profit claimed, losses from lucrative contract are different, V would only be entitled to claim if N was sufficiently knowledgeable
11
Q
Hyde v Wrench
counter offers
A
- Wrench offered to sell farm to Hyde for £1000, H declined
- 6th June, W wrote to H, £1000 final offer
- 8th June, H offers £950 via letter before seeing W’s letter
- 27th June, W informs H of refusal
- 29th June, H agrees to buy for £1000 without additional agreement from W, H sues for breach of contract
Judgement: no valid binding contract existed
- there would have been if initial offer was accepted unconditionally
12
Q
Hounslow Council v Twickenham Garden Developments
site possession
A
- Builder allowed 4 yr occupation period to carry out specified building work under contract with Hounslow
- Council terminated contract without notice, builder refused to leave
- Council tried injunction restraining builder’s entry, failed
- Arrangement with occupation gave builders non-proprietary interest in the land
- Contract granted license coupled with this interest, irrevocable for the 4 years
13
Q
Sharpe v San Paulo Railway Company
scope variation
A
- Sharpe attempted to sue San Paulo to recover additional £617,143 costs incurred by the altered plans
- Case was thrown out, if contractors (Sharpe) disapproved of variation they should have entered into a new contract
14
Q
Glenlion v Guinness Trust
A
- Contractor produced accelerated programme weeks ahead of contract
- Contractor was delayed in execution of works (not beyond OG contract)
- Sought to claim time extension, this was denied in court
- Delays were caused by late reception of information
- Unilaterally unjust to impose new date on employer
15
Q
Bamett v Chelsea Hospital Management
tort negligence
A
- Bamett drank tea, became very ill, went to casualty department
- Duty doctor refused to see him, B then died
- Doctors negligence to see him did not cause death, was too late for effective treatment
16
Q
Performance Cars v Abraham
multiple causation torts
A
- Claimant’s car damaged by negligent driving of defendant 1, later damaged by negligent driving of defendant 2
- Each collision would have necessitated respray of claimants car
- Court held only D1 was liable, D2 had not caused the original loss
17
Q
Smith v Leech Brain & Co
tort foreseeability
A
- Defendant held liable for death of claimants husband, negligently inflicted burn on husbands lip
- Burn flared up pre-malignant cancer causing death
- Loss was foreseeable from burnt lip, extent of loss was not, decision held
18
Q
Robinson v Harman
measure of damages
A
- Harman offered Robinson a 21 year lease on property, H was not entitled to grant lease, H said R had full knowledge
- R argued agreement for the lease, spent £20 in prep for lease
- H refuted, saying £25 already spent on court
Judgement: H liable for damages, expended amount was recovered
- Party who agrees to grant lease they know they cant deliver, other party may recover damages
- To place them in position had contract not been performed
19
Q
Dodd Properties v Canterbury City Council
A
- Defendant built multi-storey car park near complainants building, resulting in bad structural damage to complainants building
- Action for negligence & nuisance brought by complainant
- Defendants admitted negligence, by this point further damage causes
- Claimant argued damages to be assessed at time of hearing, defendants argued for time of construction
- Court backed defendants, damages should be compensatory
- Damage & repair costs to be assessed at earliest possible date
20
Q
British Westinghouse Electric co. v Underground Electric Railway
(mitigation)
A
- UER purchased turbines with lower than stated deficiency, had to buy new, more efficient ones
- BUE claimed against breach of contract, countered that UER would have done that regardless of breach of contract therefore no loss because of defect
- UER couldn’t claim for new turbines, damages are to place injured party in position had contract not been performed
- Savings from new turbines exceeded cost of old ones, cost not recoverable
