Mercantile Law Amendment Act 1856
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1856 c. 97 |
(19 & 20 Vict.) C A P. XCVII.
[29th July 1856]
'WHEREAS Inconvenience is felt by Persons engaged in Trade by reason of the Laws ofEngland and Ireland being in some Particulars different from those of Scotland in Matters of common Occurrence in the course of such Trade, and with a view to remedy such Inconvenience it is expedient to amend the Laws of England and Ireland as herein-after is mentioned:' Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of the same, as follows:
I Protection of Persons acquiring Title to Goods before Seizure, &c. under Writ against Seller.
I. No Writ of Fieri facias or other Writ of Execution, and no Writ of Attachment against the Goods of a Debtor, shall prejudice the Title to such Goods acquired by any Personbon fide and for a valuable Consideration before the actual Seizure or Attachment thereof by virtue of such Writ; provided such Person had not, at the Time when he acquired such Title, Notice that such Writ, or any other Writ by virtue of which the Goods of such Owner might be seized or attached, had been delivered to and remained unexecuted in the Hands of the Sheriff, Under Sheriff, or Coroner.
II Specific Delivery of Goods sold.
II. In all Actions and Suits in any of the Superior Courts of Common Law atWestminster or Dublin, or in any Court of Record in England, Wales, or Ireland, for Breach of Contract to deliver specific Goods for a Price in Money, on the Application of the Plaintiff, and by Leave of the Judge before whom the Cause is tried, the Jury shall, if they find the Plaintiff entitled to recover, find by their Verdict what are the Goods in respect of the Non-delivery of which the Plaintiff is entitled to recover and which remain undelivered; what (if any) is the Sum the Plaintiff would have been liable to pay for the Delivery thereof; what Damages (if any) the Plaintiff would have sustained if the Goods should be delivered under Execution, as herein-after mentioned, and what Damages if not so delivered; and thereupon, if Judgment shall be given for the Plaintiff, the Court or any Judge thereof, at their or his Discretion, on the Application of the Plaintiff, shall have Power to order Execution to issue for the Delivery, on Payment of such Sum (if any) as shall have been found to be payable by the Plaintiff as aforesaid, of the said Goods, without giving the Defendant the Option of retaining the same upon paying the Damages assessed; and such Writ of Execution may be for the Delivery of such Goods; and if such Goods so ordered to be delivered, or any Part thereof, cannot be found, and unless the Court, or such Judge or Baron as aforesaid, shall otherwise order, the Sheriff, or other Officer of such Court of Record, shall distrain the Defendant by all his Lands and Chattels in the said Sheriff's Bailiwick, or within the Jurisdiction of such other Court of Record, till the Defendant deliver such Goods, or, at the Option of the Plaintiff, cause to be made of the Defendant's Goods the assessed Value or Damages, or a due Proportion thereof; provided that the Plaintiff shall, either by the same or a separate Writ of Execution, be entitled to have made of the Defendant's Goods the Damages, Costs, and Interest in such Action or Suit.
III Consideration for Guarantee need not appear by Writing.
III. No special Promise to be made by any Person after the passing of this Act to answer for the Debt, Default, or Miscarriage of another Person, being in Writing, and signed by the Party to be charged therewith or some other Person by him thereunto lawfully authorized, shall be deemed invalid to support an Action, Suit, or other Proceeding to charge the Person by whom such Promise shall have been made, by reason only that the Consideration for such Promise does not appear in Writing, or by necessary Inference from a written Document.
IV Guarantee to or for a Firm to cease upon a Change in the Firm, except in special Cases.
IV. No Promise to answer for the Debt, Default, or Miscarriage of another made to a Firm consisting of Two or more Persons, or to a single Person trading under the Name of a Firm, and no Promise to answer for the Debt, Default, or Miscarriage of a Firm consisting of Two or more Persons, or of a single Person trading under the Name of a Firm, shall be binding on the Person making such Promise in respect of anything done or omitted to be done after a Change shall have taken place in any One or more of the Persons constituting the Firm, or in the Person trading under the Name of a Firm, unless the Intention of the Parties, that such Promise shall continue to be binding notwithstanding such Change, shall appear either by express Stipulation or by necessary Implication from the Nature of the Firm or otherwise:
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