Terms Flashcards
What are terms?
The rights and obligations within a contract
What is the consequence of a breached term?
Breach of contract
What is the purpose of terms?
Defines the contract, the scope of the contract and what we can expect when things go wrong
What are not terms?
Mere puff and mere representation
What is mere puff?
Advertising hyperbole- unintended to be taken seriously (no legal status)
How can a representation be elevated to terms?
Contains an implicit promise of the truth
How can terms be categorised?
As express or implied terms
What are express terms?
Terms that the parties agree to directly
What are implied terms?
Terms that are put into the contract via a mechanism of law other than direct expression
What is the first step when litigating for breach?
- Allege breach
- Identify the content of the term
- Argue for incorporation of a term
How can a term be identified?
Written document stipulating terms
Point to a conversation that has been had
When is a representation likely to be a term?
Timing
Importance
Special knowledge/expertise
Checks
What is the rule for timing?
Closer in time a representation is made to contracting, the increased likelihood the courts are to interpret it as a term
Routledge v Mckay
Buyer told seller that the motorbike was a different model than it was. Buyer argued that the statement made was a contractual term.
The lapse of time meant the seller could verify/put the term in writing
What is the rule for importance?
If there is clear importance of the fact to the contract, and it is established but for the statement the contract would not have been entered= likely to be a term
Bannerman v White
The claimant agreed by contract to purchase some hops to be used for making beer. He asked the seller if the hops had been treated with sulphur and told him if they had he wouldn’t buy them as he would not be able to use them for making beer if they had. The seller assured him that the hops had not been treated with sulphur. In fact they had been treated with sulphur.
The statement that the hops had not been treated with sulphur was a term of the contract rather than a representation as the claimant had communicated the importance of the term and relied on the statement. His action for breach of contract was successful.
Special knowledge
If their is a disparity between the knowledge of the parties, a statement made by the expert is less likely to be accepted that it is/isnt a term
Oscar Chess v Williams
Representee purchases car in reliance of the model. Model turned out to be incorrect
Held:
The statement relating to the age of the car was not a term but a representation. The representee, Oscar Chess ltd as a car dealer, had the greater knowledge and would be in a better position to know the age of the manufacture than the defendant.
Checks/verification
If one undertakes or dissuades verification, likely to take risk upon the statement = term
Schawel v Reade
Seller dissuaded buyer from undertaken checks on the soundness of a horse.
Horse was not sound=breach of term
Which rule do the courts adhere to if there is a written contract?
The parol evidence rule
What is the parol evidence rule?
If a contract is a written contract, extrinsic oral evidence can’t be adduced to add, vary or detract from that document
What will the courts do if theres a claim for extrinsic oral evidence?
The courts will ignore oral discussions
What is a hybrid contract?
A contract that relies on both written and oral terms
jacobs v Batavia