''Davis Contractors Ltd v Fareham Urban District Council''
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In psychology, frustration is a common emotional response to opposition, related to anger, annoyance and disappointment. Frustration arises from the perceived resistance to the fulfillment of an individual's will or goal and is likely to inc ...
of an agreement.
Facts
Davis Contractors agreed with Fareham UDC to build 78 houses over eight months for £92,425. It ended up taking 22 months because Davis was short of labour and materials and cost £115,223. Davis submitted the contract was frustrated and void and therefore they were entitled to
quantum meruit
''Quantum meruit'' is a Latin phrase meaning "what one has earned". In the context of contract law, it means something along the lines of "reasonable value of services".
In the United States, the elements of ''quantum meruit'' are determined by ...
for the
value of work done.
Judgment
The House of Lords held that although the performance of the contract had become more onerous, it was not frustrated. Lord Reid argued that saying frustration was an implied term was fanciful because people do not write about unforeseeable events. Instead, he wrote the following:
Lord Radcliffe concurred with the result:
956
Year 956 ( CMLVI) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place Byzantine Empire
* Summer – Emperor Constantine VII appoints Nikephoros Phokas to commander of the ...
AC 696, 728-9
Another argument that failed was that an express term was incorporated that the agreed price was binding only if there were in fact adequate supplies of labour and materials.
Australian law
Lord Radcliffe's test was approved by the High Court of Australia in ''
Codelfa Construction Pty Ltd v State Rail Authority of NSW
''Codelfa Construction Pty Ltd v State Rail Authority of New South Wales'',. ("''Codelfa''") is a widely cited Australian contract law case, which serves as authority for the modern approach to contractual construction. (2012) 29 ''Journal of C ...
''.
[.]
See also
*
English contract law
English contract law is the body of law that regulates legally binding agreements in England and Wales. With its roots in the lex mercatoria and the activism of the judiciary during the industrial revolution, it shares a heritage with countries ...
*
Frustration in English law
Frustration is an English contract law doctrine that acts as a device to set aside contracts where an unforeseen event either renders contractual obligations impossible, or radically changes the party's principal purpose for entering into the con ...
References
{{reflist, 2
House of Lords cases
1956 in case law
1956 in British law
Fareham
English frustration case law