''Great Peace Shipping Ltd v Tsavliris (International) Ltd'' [2002
EWCA Civ 1407(also known as ''The Great Peace'') is a case on
English contract law and on
maritime salvage
Marine salvage is the process of recovering a ship and its cargo after a shipwreck or other maritime casualty. Salvage may encompass towing, re-floating a vessel, or effecting repairs to a ship. Today, protecting the coastal environment from s ...
. It investigates when a Mistake (contract law)#Common mistake, common mistake within a contractual agreement will render it void.
It is notable for its Mechanisms of the English common law, "disapproval" of ''
Solle v Butcher
''Solle v Butcher'' 9501 KB 671 is an English contract law case, concerning the right to have a contract declared voidable in equity. Denning LJ reaffirmed a class of "equitable mistakes" in his judgment, which enabled a claimant to avoid a con ...
'', a 1950
Court of Appeal case in which
Lord Denning
Alfred Thompson "Tom" Denning, Baron Denning (23 January 1899 – 5 March 1999) was an English lawyer and judge. He was called to the bar of England and Wales in 1923 and became a King's Counsel in 1938. Denning became a judge in 1944 wh ...
had established a doctrine of "equitable mistake". ''Great Peace'' ruled that the thinking underlying ''Solle v. Butcher'' "could not stand in the face of the earlier decision of the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...
in ''
Bell v. Lever Bros.''".
[Martin-Clark, D.]
'Great Peace'
accessed 21 March 2023
Facts
The defendants, Tsavliris, were professional salvors in the business of
maritime salvage
Marine salvage is the process of recovering a ship and its cargo after a shipwreck or other maritime casualty. Salvage may encompass towing, re-floating a vessel, or effecting repairs to a ship. Today, protecting the coastal environment from s ...
and rendering aid to ships in difficulty in the
South Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
. Learning that a vessel named ''Cape Providence'' was in trouble, Tsavliris entered into a salvage agreement with the owners on
LOF
Lof (Spanish: ''levo'' and ''lov'') or caví (Spanish: ''cahuín''); formed the basic social organization of the Mapuche, Mapuche-Huilliche and the extinct Picunche peoples, consisting of a familial clan or lineage that recognizes the authority o ...
terms. Tsavliris used the Ocean Routes service to try to locate the nearest rescue vessel, and were told that there was one about 35 miles away called the ''Great Peace''. Using London brokers called Marint, Tsavliris contacted the ''Great Peace's'' owners, and agreement was made to hire the tug for a minimum of five days. It then became apparent that the ''Great Peace'' was not 35 miles from the ''Cape Providence'', but 410 miles. Tsavliris then found a closer tug and
terminated the contract with Great Peace Ltd, who responded by suing for gross breach of contract. Tsavliris argued it was a common mistake as to the location of the stricken vessel and this invalidated the contract.
Judgment
Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers MR held that the mistake was not sufficiently fundamental to void the contract. The ''Great Peace'' would have taken 22 hours to do 410 miles, but that delay was insufficient to make performance of the contract ‘essentially different from those the parties envisaged when the contract was concluded.’
In the course of the judgment, ''
McRae v Commonwealth Disposals Commission
''McRae v Commonwealth Disposals Commission'',. is an Australian contract law case, relevant for English contract law, concerning the common mistake about the possibility of performing an agreement.
Facts
The Commonwealth Disposals Commission ...
'',
[.] was approved, and ''
Solle v Butcher
''Solle v Butcher'' 9501 KB 671 is an English contract law case, concerning the right to have a contract declared voidable in equity. Denning LJ reaffirmed a class of "equitable mistakes" in his judgment, which enabled a claimant to avoid a con ...
'' was disapproved:
See also
*
English contract law
*
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 ...
*''
Cooper v Phibbs
''Cooper v Phibbs'' 867UKHL 1is an English contract law case, concerning the doctrine of mistake.
Facts
An uncle told his nephew, not intending to misrepresent anything, but being in fact in error, that he (the uncle) was entitled to a fishery ...
'' [1867
UKHL 1 (1867) LR 2 HL 149
Notes
References
{{reflist
English contract case law
Court of Appeal (England and Wales) cases
2002 in case law
2002 in British law