Chapter 4: Void and frustrated sale of goods contracts
| Library | Commercial Law 2012–2013 |
| Pages | 31-35 |
| Author | Jonathan Fitchen |
The ordinary contract rules relating to mistake and frustration apply to sale of goods contracts. There are, however, specific provisions in ss 6 and 7 of the
In February, Couturier shipped grain by sea to London. The grain began to overheat and was sold by the ship’s captain in Tunis in April. This was unknown to Couturier’s London agent, Hastie, who, in May ‘sold’ the cargo to Callender. When the truth emerged Callender refused to pay. Couturier sued Hastie arguing that under their Agency agreement he was responsible for the debt. The court disagreed.
If, unknown to the parties, there is actually no subject matter because it has perished prior to the contract, there can be no contract. This case inspired s 6.
In the case of a contract for the sale of specific goods, if the goods have, unknown to the seller, perished before the contract is made, the contract is void (s 6). This is no more than what the rule would be at common law. Because the contract is concerned with the sale of something which, unknown to the parties, does not exist, it is a contract about nothing.
The rule applies equally (unless the contract is severable) even if only some of the goods have perished – see
The rule does not apply, however, if the contract was for the sale, not of specific goods (for example, ‘the seller’s current stock of 100 tons of hazelnuts’), but only of purely generic unascertained goods (for example, ‘100 tons of hazelnuts’). If the contract was for the sale of unascertained goods out of an identified bulk, then s 6 would not apply, but the contract would nevertheless be void at common law if the identified bulk had, unknown to the seller, ceased to exist at the time the contract was made.
Phillips sold a Parcel – being 700 bags – of nuts to Ballard. Unknown to either party before the contract was made 109 bags from the Parcel had been stolen from the depot. 150 bags were delivered to Ballard by Phillips before the remaining bags were also stolen. Phillips claimed the entire price from Ballard. The court held the contract void under s 6 as the goods had...
Get this document and AI-powered insights with a free trial of vLex and Vincent AI
Get Started for FreeStart Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
