Seminar 6 - Vitiating factors Flashcards
Contracts for Necessaries - What are Necessaries?
s 3(3) Sale of Goods Act (Cap 393): .“necessaries” means goods suitable to the condition in life of the minor…and to his actual requirements at the time of the sale and delivery.
Are they Necessities? Can they be Luxuries/ Luxurious items of Utility? Common Law can help:
- A must show Goods suitable to condition in life of M
Peters v Fleming (1840): Gold rings. Son of rich man.
- A must show M has actual need of the goods
Nash v Inman (1908): 11 fancy waistcoats.
- Overall Beneficial to M
Fawcett v Smethurst (1914)
If M has already paid, i.e. executed , then he cannot claim back the $ paid, unless there is total failure of consideration: Valentini v Canali
s 3(2) Sale of Goods Act (Cap 393): where necessaries sold and delivered to M……he must pay a reasonable price.
Contract with minors , general rule
If a minors’ contract is valid, the contract binds both the minor and the other party, and is fully enforceable.
Loans for Necessaries
Loans for Necessaries
- A person who lends money to a minor is generally unable to enforce the contract and recover the money from the minor.
- However, if the money was used by the minor to purchase necessaries, the effect is reversed and the minors’ contract is valid.
Voidable Contracts: valid until time it is terminated
If a minor enters into a contract in which the minor faces recurring future obligations e.g. lease / land / shares / partnerships / marriages, the contract is a voidable contract.
In a voidable minors’ contract, it is valid and binding upon the other party.
The minor, on the other hand, is entitled to repudiate the contract without any liability during his infancy or a reasonable time after attaining majority. If so, the contract is terminated.
However, the minors’ entitlement to repudiate without a penalty is limited to anytime during his infancy or within a reasonable period after he attains majority.
