''Parker v South Eastern Railway''
8772 CPD 416 is a famous
English
English usually refers to:
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Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
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contract law
A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...
case on
exclusion clause
An exclusion clause is a term in a contract that seeks to restrict the rights of the parties to the contract.
Traditionally, the district courts have sought to limit the operation of exclusion clauses. In addition to numerous common law rules lim ...
s where the court held that an individual cannot escape a contractual term by failing to read the contract but that a party wanting to rely on an exclusion clause must take reasonable steps to bring it to the attention of the customer.
Facts
Mr Parker left a bag in the cloakroom of
Charing Cross railway station
Charing Cross railway station (also known as London Charing Cross) is a central London railway terminus between the Strand and Hungerford Bridge in the City of Westminster. It is the terminus of the South Eastern Main Line to Dover via Ashfo ...
, run by the
South Eastern Railway Company. On depositing his bag and paying two pence he received a ticket. On the front it said "see back". On its back, it stated that the railway was excluded from liability for items worth £10 or more. Mr Parker failed to read the clause as he thought the ticket was only a receipt of payment. However, he admitted that he knew the ticket contained writing. Mr Parker's bag, which was worth more than £10, was lost. He sued the company. The question of law put to the court was whether the clause applied to Mr Parker. At trial the jury found for Mr Parker as it was reasonable for him not to read the ticket.
Judgment
Divisional Court
Lord Coleridge CJ
John Duke Coleridge, 1st Baron Coleridge, PC (3 December 1820 – 14 June 1894) was an English lawyer, judge and Liberal politician. He held the posts, in turn, of Solicitor General for England and Wales, Attorney General for England and Wales ...
, Brett J and
Lindley J decided in favour of Mr Parker, upholding the jury award. Lindley J remarked,
Court of Appeal
The majority of the Court of Appeal held there should be a retrial. They said that if Mr Parker knew of the conditions he would be bound. If he did not know, he would still be bound if he was given the ticket in such a way as amounted to "reasonable notice".
Mellish LJ
Sir George Mellish, Privy Council of the United Kingdom, PC (19 December 1814 – 15 June 1877) was an English barrister, judge of the Court of Appeal in Chancery, and member of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.
Early life
Born at ...
said the following.
Baggallay LJ
Sir Richard Baggallay PC (1816 – 1888) was a British barrister, politician, and judge. After serving as Attorney-General under Benjamin Disraeli from 1874 to 1875, Baggallay was appointed a Lord Justice of Appeal in Chancery (Lord Justice o ...
concurred, and predicted that the same result would be reached by the jury (in Mr Parker's favour).
Bramwell LJ
George William Wilshere Bramwell, 1st Baron Bramwell, (12 June 1808 – 9 May 1892), was an English judge.
Early years
He was the eldest son of George Bramwell (1773–1858), a partner in the banking firm of Dorrien, Magens, Dorrien, & Mello; h ...
dissented, holding that reasonable notice should be a question of law, and that held have decided in favour of the railway company.
See also
*''
Chapelton v Barry UDC
''Chapelton v Barry Urban District Council'' 9401 KB 532, the "deckchair case",England and Wales Court of AppealThornton v Shoe Lane Parking Ltd 970EWCA Civ 2, 18 December 1970, accessed 5 November 2020 is an English contract law case on offer a ...
''
940
Year 940 ( CMXL) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* The tribe of the Polans begins the construction of the following fortified settlements (Gi ...
*''
Olley v Marlborough Court Hotel
''Olley v Marlborough Court Hotel'[1949] 1 KB 532is an English contract law case on exclusion clauses in contract law. The case stood for the proposition that a representation made by one party cannot become a term of a contract if made ...
'' (1949) another famous exclusion case
*''
Thornton v Shoe Lane Parking Ltd
is a leading English contract law case. It gives a good example of the rule that a clause cannot be incorporated after a contract has been concluded, without reasonable notice before. Also, it was held that an automatic ticket machine was an off ...
''
*''
George Mitchell v Finney Lock Seeds Ltd
''George Mitchell (Chesterhall) Ltd v Finney Lock Seeds Ltd'' 982EWCA Civ 5and [19832 AC 803 is a case concerning the sale of goods and exclusion clauses. It was decided under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 and the Sale of Goods Act 1979.
...
''
Notes
{{Reflist
1877 in case law
Baron Bramwell cases
English incorporation case law
Lord Lindley cases
1877 in British law
Court of Appeal (England and Wales) cases
Railway litigation in 1877