Contractual capacity

Question 1

• Oxford student bought a supply of waistcoats and his father successfully avoided the contract on the basis that his son already had a sufficient supply of waistcoats and the recent purchase was therefore not necessary
• two-part test arising from Nash:
  
  • The court must determine as a matter of law whether the particular goods or services are capable of being necessaries;
  • If the answer to (i) is Yes, the plaintiff must prove that, as a matter of fact, they are necessaries in the particular circumstances of the minor
    
    • problematic as the shop owner does not know what the minor already owns

Answer 1

Nash v. Inman [1908] 2 KB 1

Question 2

• minor purchased a horse while returning home from a party
• luxury items - too away from necessities
• over time need to define necessity - in old cases very generous interpretation

Answer 2

Skrine V Goldon

Question 3

• a 17-year-old hockey player of exceptional ability entered into a contract with the plaintiff, an amateur hockey club, under which he agreed to play hockey only for the plaintiff for a period of three years, or at the plaintiff’s option, four years
• He received minimal remuneration and would have to pay the plaintiff 20% of his earnings during his first three years as a professional hockey player
• The Ontario Court of Appeal held that as the contract was not beneficial to the defendant it was voidable at his option
• Blair JA noted that the contract had not been freely negotiated but rather had been presented to the defendant on a ‘take it or leave it’ basis.
• Admittedly, the contract did provide the minor with what was effectively the only route to a professional hockey career.
• The fact that such arrangements might benefit the sport as a whole could not affect the fact that the contract was not beneficial to the defendant.

Answer 3

Toronto Marlboro Hockey Club vTonelli

Question 4

12- year old girl contracted with with railway service for transport
exemption clause: denying liability for negligence injury
when she was injured - possible to void contract
judge said the contract denied the girl every right

Answer 4

Keays v. Great Southern Railway [1941] IR 534

Question 5

• P wrote a book but it was bad
• already had a contract to publish
• decided he does not want to publish it anymore
• despite the book being very bad, he could not void the contract as it was beneficial to him - got money to support his family

Answer 5

Chaplin v Leslie Frewin