J. Lauritzen A.S. v Wijsmuller B.V, (The Super Servant Two)

990 Year 990 ( CMXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Al-Mansur, ''de facto'' ruler of Al-Andalus, conquers the Castle of Montemor-o-Velho (mode ...

1 Lloyd's Rep 1 more commonly known as The Super Servant Two was a Court of Appeal case in

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 ...

. The case is one of the leading case law authorities relating to

frustration of contract Frustration of purpose, in law, is a defense to enforcement of a contract. Frustration of purpose occurs when an unforeseen event undermines a party's principal purpose for entering into a contract such that the performance of the contract is rad ...

in English contract law.

Facts

The claimants in the case, J. Lauritzen A/S, were the owners of an oil drilling rig that the defendants Wijsmuller had agreed to transport from Japan to Rotterdam. Under the terms of the contract the defendants were able to transport the oil rig using one of either two ships known as ''The Super Servant One'' or the ''Super Servant Two''. The defendants decided to use the second ship as the first ship was being used for other contracts. However, in July 1981 the ''Super Servant Two'' was sunk in Zaire (now the

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

) while transporting another rig. The defendants argued that the contract has been frustrated as they were incapable of transporting the drilling rig and the claimants argued that the impossibility of performing the contract had been self-induced and that therefore they should not be discharged of the need to perform the contract.

Judgment

The Court of Appeal ruled that the defendants could not rely on the doctrine of frustration and that the defendants would have to bear the additional costs of transporting the rig.

Criticism and academic reaction

A ruling has been described as "a harsh decision open to criticism".Coredo-Moss, G. (2011), ''Boilerplate Clauses, International Commercial Contracts and International Law, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 176

References

External links

Lauritzen A.S. v Wijsmuller B.V
Bailii.org. Retrieved 2013-1-24 {{DEFAULTSORT:Super Servant Two, The English frustration case law 1990 in United Kingdom case law 1990 in British law Court of Appeal (England and Wales) cases