''G Scammell and Nephew Ltd v HC&JG Ouston''
941
Year 941 ( CMXLI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* May – September – Rus'–Byzantine War: The Rus' and their allies, t ...
1 AC 251 is an
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 ...
case, concerning the certainty of an
agreement Agreement may refer to:
Agreements between people and organizations
* Gentlemen's agreement, not enforceable by law
* Trade agreement, between countries
* Consensus, a decision-making process
* Contract, enforceable in a court of law
** Meeting o ...
. It stands as an example of a relatively rare case where a court cannot find some way in which a contract can be made to work.
Facts
The claimants wished to trade in their old van for a new van with the defendants. They agreed a price for the old van’s trade in, but only that they would pay for the new van ‘on hire purchase terms’ for two years. The defendants subsequently pulled out of the agreement, and when the claimants attempted to sue, the defendants argued that the agreement could not be enforced because it was too uncertain.
Judgment
The House of Lords held this was too vague for the contract to be enforced. There was no objective standard by which the court could know what price was intended or what a reasonable price might be.
Viscount Simon LC,
Viscount Maugham
Viscount Maugham, of Hartfield in the County of Sussex, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 22 September 1939 for the former Lord Chancellor, Frederic Maugham, 1st Viscount Maugham, Frederic Maugham, Baron Maugham ...
,
Lord Russell and
Lord Wright all gave speeches.
See also
*
Contract
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 ...
*
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 ...
Notes
References
*
Scammell and Nephew Ltd v Ouston
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scammell And Nephew Ltd V Ouston
English contract case law
House of Lords cases
1941 in case law
1941 in British law