''The Moorcock'' (1889) 14 PD 64 is a leading

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 which created an important test for identifying the main terms that the law will imply in commercial, or non-consumer, agreements, especially terms that are "necessary and obvious...to give business efficacy". Terms shall not be implied merely because they appear "desirable and reasonable". The case has been widely cited in later cases and is narrowly

distinguish The ruling made by the judge or panel of judges must be based on the evidence at hand and the standard binding precedents covering the subject-matter (they must be ''followed''). Definition In law, to distinguish a case means a court decides th ...

ed.

Facts

The owners of the ship called ''The Moorcock'' contracted for space at a wharf owner's jetty in order to unload ''The Moorcock's'' cargo. While docked, the tide went down to a point where the hull of the ship hit a ridge, causing damage to the ship. The

plaintiff A plaintiff ( Π in legal shorthand) is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an ''action'') before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy. If this search is successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of the p ...

argued that the

wharfinger Wharfinger (pronounced ''wor-fin-jer)'' is an archaic term for a person who is the keeper or owner of a wharf. The wharfinger takes custody of and is responsible for goods delivered to the wharf, typically has an office on the wharf or dock, and ...

s were responsible to ensure that his vessel would remain safe while docked. The wharf owners, in their defense, claimed that there were no provisions in the contract to ensure the vessel's safety and that they could not have foreseen the damage caused to the vessel. The issue before the Court was whether there can be any implied warranty given the circumstances. The trial court found that there was an implied warranty.

Judgment

The Court held for the ship owner, ruling that there was an implied term that the wharfingers had taken reasonable steps to ascertain the state of the riverbed adjacent to the jetty (not, as often stated, an implied term that the jetty would be a safe place to dock).See reference to this case i
Smith v. Burnett
US Supreme Court 173 US 430 If the wharfingers had taken such responsibility, then they would have discovered the ridge of rock and would have been under the duty to warn the shipowners of the potential hazard. Failure to warn would have been actionable in tort. Therefore, this very restricted term was sufficient to provide protection to the shipowners as it would have been necessary to give the contracted business efficacy.

Bowen LJ Charles Synge Christopher Bowen, Baron Bowen, (1 January 1835 – 10 April 1894) was an English judge. Early life Bowen was born at Woolaston in Gloucestershire – his father, Rev. Christopher Bowen, originally of Hollymount, County Mayo, b ...

stated that any implied warranties must be based on the presumed intentions of the parties. An implied warranty may be read into a contract for reasons of "business efficacy", and in order to maintain the presumed intention of the parties. As Bowen LJ said: Bowen LJ looked at the presumed risks of the agreement and who was expected to bear them. The wharfingers were in such a position that they could have discovered there was a risk of damage to the ship, and would have been in the best position to judge the safety of the vessel.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moorcock, The English implied terms case law 1889 in British law 1889 in case law Court of Appeal (England and Wales) cases

Facts

Judgment

See also

References