''Alderslade v Hendon Laundry Ltd''
945
Year 945 ( CMXLV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* January 27 – The co-emperors Stephen and Constantine are overthrown barel ...
KB 189 is an
English contract law case, concerning the construction of exemption clauses, and the ''
contra proferentem
''Contra proferentem'' (Latin: "against heofferor"), also known as "interpretation against the draftsman", is a doctrine of contractual interpretation providing that, where a promise, agreement or term is ambiguous, the preferred meaning sho ...
principle.
Facts
Ten large handkerchiefs were lost by the laundry. It argued that its liability was limited by a clause in the contract which read: ‘The maximum amount allowed for lost or damaged articles is twenty times the charge made for laundering.’ That was 11s 5d, about one tenth of the cost of the handkerchiefs at £5.
The judge held that the claim succeeded, and Hendon Laundry Ltd appealed.
Judgment
The
Court of Appeal of England and Wales
The Court of Appeal (formally "His Majesty's Court of Appeal in England", commonly cited as "CA", "EWCA" or "CoA") is the highest court within the Senior Courts of England and Wales, and second in the legal system of England and Wales only to ...
held the limitation clause did apply, because although negligence was not mentioned, the defendants could only have been liable for the handkerchiefs if they had been negligent. A common carrier, for example, must make clear that negligence is excluded, and if that is not done in clear terms, only liability for a strict duty will be excluded. But here, the only other duty was the absolute, primary obligation to perform the contract itself.
Lord Greene MR said the following.
See also
*
English contract law
Notes
{{reflist, 2
References
*
English contract case law
Court of Appeal (England and Wales) cases
1945 in British law
1945 in case law