lecture 6

Question 1

contractual interpretation

Answer 1

contract term is that which would have for a reasonable person with the background knowledge reasonably available to the parties

Question 2

textualism

Answer 2

more weight on the conventional/ “natural” meaning of the words

Question 3

contextualism

Answer 3

more weight on the background circumstances, purposes and commercial common sense

Question 4

Lord Hoffman on kinds of context

Answer 4

“absolutely anything which would have affected the way in which the language of the document would have been understood” - ICS v West Bromwich Building Soc

Question 5

inadmissibility of pre contractual negotiations

Answer 5

evidence of pre contractual negotiations is generally inadmissable

Question 6

implied duty of good faith in relational contracts

Answer 6

a duty of good faith will be implied in a “relational contract”, namely:
a long term one
the parties will have to collaborate in the performance
Bates v Post office-duty to not recover short falls without fair investigation

Question 7

implied terms

Answer 7

if a term is implied in law this is based on the contract falling into a certain category captured by a statutory or common law rule or by custom

Question 8

Sale of Goods Act 1979

Answer 8

implies various terms into non-consumer contracts
seller has good title to the goods (owns)
correspond with description
quality and fitness for purpose
bulk of goods sold by sample are like sample

Question 9

unilateral mistake of terms

Answer 9

A made mistake on terms and B knew or reasonably knew there is no binding contract

Question 10

Hartog v Colin & Shields

Answer 10

example of a case with unilateral mistake of terms

Question 11

corrective interpretation

Answer 11

literal meaning yields to the contextually sensitive meaning
the mistake must be as to the terms of the contract not the product

Question 12

rectification

Answer 12

remedy whereby the court orders a change to be made to a written legal document to correct mistake, where intention that document fails is shared by both parties

Question 13

Chartbrook v Persimmon Homes

Answer 13

intentions were assessed objectively

Question 14

FHSC v GLAS trust group

Answer 14

intentions were assessed subjectively

Question 15

Non est Factum

Answer 15

written agreement is void as contract if
a signatory is unable to understand meaning through no own fault
what was signed is radically different

Question 16

Saunders v Anglia Building Soc

Answer 16

example of non est factum

Question 17

common mistake

Answer 17

mistake on the factual position

Question 18

requirements for common mistake

Answer 18

1.must be common assumption as to the existence of a state of affairs
2.there must be no warranty by either party that the state of affairs exists
3.the mistake must not attribute to the fault of either party
4.the non existence of SoA must render performance impossible
5.mistake must relate to existence of subject matter

Question 19

allocation of risk in sales

Answer 19

buyer beware is default position, risk of mistake is on B

Question 20

absence of fault

Answer 20

a party cannot rely on common mistake “where the mistake consists of a belief which is entertained without reasonable grounds”

Question 21

AJB v Credit du nord

Answer 21

example of absence of fault

Question 22

Great Peace

Answer 22

Vessel being 400 miles rather than assumed 35 miles away is an insufficient mistake

Question 23

Sheikh Bros v Ochsner

Answer 23

Agreement for farmer to lease land in return for delivering a certain quantity of sisal, land was incapable of producing that much
was a serious enough mistake