Contract Law - Final Essay

This final essay on contract law explores the doctrines and principles governing contract law, legal obligations of parties, and consequences of breach. It discusses the formation of contracts, the role of consideration, and the availability of damages for breach. Case studies are used to illustrate key concepts.

Contract Law - Final Essay

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Contract law is referred to as the legal and valid contract who in turn requires the
presence of three core elements which mainly includes agreement, legal relations and
consideration. Contract law is referred to as the agreement between private parties who tends to
focus on creating common obligations which are enforceable by law1. A void contract is referred
to be the one which does not have any legal effect from the beginning. It is referred to as void ab
initio. This study will focus on understanding the doctrines and the various rules and principles
which are governing contract law. This study helps in determining the issues which are
impacting development of contract law. This study will also focus on evaluating the legal
obligations of parties to the contract and also determine the legal consequences in relation to the
breach.
MAIN BODY
English contract law is considered to be as a body of law who in turn tends to focus on
regulating contracts in Wales and England. A contract is referred to an agreement which is
enforceable by law and is based on voluntary obligations. A legally binded agreement is based
on three elements which mainly includes an agreement, intentions to form legal relations and
consideration. A legal doctrine is referred to as a framework which is based on procedural steps,
set of rules, which has been established with the precedent based on the common law. Doctrine is
considered to be a legal principle which has been established with the repeated application in
relation with legal precedents. Doctrine of stare decisis states that, court tends to look into the
past judgement made by the court on the cases which have similar material facts and issues.
Precedent is considered to be as the legal rule or principle which has been created by the decision
of the court. This decision tends to set an example or act an authority in order to judge or resolve
the similar issues in the future. Doctrine of stare decisis states is useful in enabling judges to
effectively reduce the uncertainty related with taking decision. Breach of contract is considered
to be as the legal cause of action in which the law is binded by the agreement. Breach of contract
takes place when legally one party's failure in order to fulfil the contractual obligations. A breach
of contract can occur when the party fails to perform work on time, or does nor perform the work
in accordance with the specific terms of agreement. The rule of the common law is that, when a
party tends to sustain a loss on the grounds of the breach of contract, so far the money can be
1 Austen-Baker, Richard
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beneficial in order to respect to some damages. The governing law or the choice of law is
considered to be the provision in the contract which in turn allows parties to agree in order to
state that, the particular state of law must be used in order to interpret the particular agreement.
Formation of contract is considered to be an agreement who intends to focus on giving
rise to the obligations which in turn is recognised and enforced by the law. According to the
common law, formation of contract is based on three core elements which mainly includes
contractual intention, agreement and consideration2. An agreement between the parties happens
when the one party tends to make an offer and the other party tends to focus on accepting the
offer. An offer is considered to be as the expression of willingness towards the contract which is
based on specified terms and the offer is made with an intention to bind the offerings once
accepted by the person. The offer must be made with the expression of words or by the conduct.
An acceptance is occurred when an offer-ee tends to mutually agree and also in turn is bound to
the terms and conditions of the agreement. An offer can be revoked before the acceptance. And
the revocation must be effectively communicated to the offer-ee. Consideration is referred to be
as the something of value. It has been determined that, the one sided promise which in turn is
supported by the consideration is referred to as a gift. Contractual intention is considered to be as
the contract which has been binded legally. Tyhis in turn states that, there should be legal
relations to create that, the parties are intended to enter into the legally binding agreement which
in turn is enforceable by the law.
Paterson, Jeannie established the fact that, Robinson v harman (1848) 1 ex 850 is one of
the English contract law case which is based on compensatory damages for the breach of
contract. The key purpose of the damages related with the breach of contract is associated with
the compensatory damages because the lessor was not able to effectively deliver vacant
possession. In this case the lessor was not able to deliver the vacant possession for 21 years of
lease and the rental upon which the party agreed was considered to be much lower than
compared with the market rental. Expectations damages has been occurred where the damages
are considered to be redeemable from breach of contract by non breaching party under the
common legal law. From this case, it has been evaluated that, Mr. Robinson is eligible to cover
the loss of up to £200 which also includes the expenses of the court due to not getting the house3.
Expectation of damages is considered to be very useful in putting the non- breaching party back
2 Beale, Hugh, Bénédicte Fauvarque-Cosson, Jacobien Rutgers, and Stefan Vogenauer
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into the position where it would have been after the fulfilment of the particular contract.
Expectation of damages is measured on the basis of incidental damages, diminution in value and
consequential damages.
Farley vs Skinner (2001) UKHL 49 is also another English contract case which is mainly
concerned about the availability of the damages for the distress. Mr Farley has bought a real
estate on Riverside House in Blackboys, Sussex. It has cost him around £420,000 and further
£125,000 has been spent for improvement. Mr Farley has hired Mr Skinner to appropriately
survey the house in order to determine the level of aircraft noise4. Mr Skinner has reported that,
the air noise was at acceptable levels, but for the matter of fact at 6 a.m. the noise was
unbearable. The trial judge on the other hand held with the fact that, Mr. Farley has not paid
more and no financial loss has been occurred (Judgments - Farley v. Skinner, 2019). Mr. Farley
was in turn awarded £10,000 for discomfort and distress caused to Mr. Farley.
Addis vs Gramophone (1909) AC 488 is considered to be the case linked with UK labour
law and English contract law which in turn is used to effectively restrict to the damages
associated with the non- pecuniary losses for the breach of contract. Mr. Addis was the manager
of Gramophone's in Calcutta. On October 1905, Mr. Addis has been given 6 months notice of
dismissal. Addis s leaving the job 2 months later and has returned to England. The defendant in
the breach of contract has dispensed the services of Mr. Addis by replacing him with the new
manager. This in turn has damaged Mr. Addis reputation and also resulted in finding difficulty in
order to gain suitable employment5. Wrongful dismissal is considered to be as the act where
employee's contract of the employment has been expelled or terminated by the employer. Mr.
Addis was awarded with £340 for the loss of commission and also £600 for the wrongful
dismissal.
Ruxley vs Forsyth (1996) AC 344 is an effective English contract case which is mainly
concerned with the choice associated with the award of damages in relation for the cost of cure a
3 Cartwright, John
4 Halson, Roger.
5 Mohamed, Ashgar Ali Ali, Mohd Akram Shair Mohamed, and Farheen Baig Sardar Baig
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defect in the building contract or for the loss of “amenity”. Ruxley has agreed upon to build a
swimming pool in garden of Forsyth's. The contract has specified that, the swimming pool will
have the diving area of around 7 feet and 6 inches deep. At the time of construction the diving
area was considered to be only 6 feet deep which in turn is considered to be the safe depth for the
diving and has also not affected the value of the pool. Still, Forsyth was not satisfied and has
bought an action related with the breach of contract which in turn claims the cos associated with
the demolisher of the pool and the cost of rebuilding which mainly comprise a sum of £21,540.
The judge has awarded Forsyth with the loss of amenity of around £2500. But in the court of
appeal stated that, damages must be awarded to Forsyth and he must be put back in the same
position at the time contract has been performed6. This cost is associated with the cost of
rebuilding the particular pool. Lord Mustill said that, the law must be catered within those
occasion when the sum of money promised to the promisee tends to exceed the financial
enhancement of the part's position. On the other hand Lord Lloyd said that, the court does not
care about the damages but will take into consideration the intentions associated with the
innocent party which in turn is relevant for the issue of reasonableness ion order to award
damages.
Watts vs Morrow (1991) is contract law case, where the defendant Mr Ralph Morrow a
building survivor is a case where the house is overvalued and the surveyor has failed to disclose
the defects in the house. The defendant appeal is towards damages which is mainly associated
with the cost of repairs. The award must be given on the basis of the diminution value or any
excess purchase price paid. The claimant has appealed for claiming for distress, damages and in
convenience ion the matter of negligence. For the matter of fact, £10000 has been awarded.
Jarvis v swan tours Ltd 1973 QB 233 is considered to be as the case related with the
English contract law on measure related with the damages for influencing breach of contract.
The contract has been entered for the main purpose of the provision which is mainly linked with
the provision of entertainment and enjoyment. Mr. Jarvis a solicitor has been chosen to go for
Christmas holiday to Switzerland with the ravishing experience of the house party. Mr. Jarvis
was highly disappointed because there was no house party in the hotel and the skiing experience
was also disappointing because it was far away at Giswil. There were no Swiss cakes. Mr. Jarvis
6 Fraser, Gordon Rowland.
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has sued the Swan tours Ltd for the breach of contract7. The Misrepresentation act 1967 states
that, there is a redress in damages due to misrepresentation. The trail judge has awarded £31.72
which is considered to be as the difference between the value of the services received and the
value paid for the services. In accordance with the Lord Denning MR, Mr Jarvis can also recover
damages for distress, disappointment, frustration and upset which has been caused due to the
breach. According to which £125 has been awarded to Mr. Jarvis. Damages has been awarded
for the distress, upset, disappointment and frustration which has been caused due to the breach of
the contract who in turn fails to provide the entertainment and enjoyment.
A contract is formed when both the parties are intended to be legally bound by the
promise and have also clearly agreed upon the promises. This is also referred to as the meeting of
minds. This helps court to effectively to look at the certain key elements of in order to effectively
determine whether a valid contract has been made or not8. This is based on key core elements
which are offer, consideration and acceptance in order to be in legally valid contract. The
English law states that, the contract is formed at the particular time and place when the offer is
made by one party and the acceptance is given by the other party to the offerer. The contract can
be made written or orally or through any other means by both the parties which in turn helps in
acknowledging the existence of the contract. There should be mutual consent, genuine and
mutual agreement and consensus ad idem in order to form a valid contract.
Poole, Jill sought to analyse the fact that, contract issues are mainly linked with
understanding the various terms of contract and also helps in determining how they are
considered to be vital for those who in turn are planning to effectively make agreements with
various other parties. In order to be contract to be valid, something of value must be exchanged
which in turn includes cash, goods, service, etc. the major issue with the contract of law is that, it
tends to require evidence which is undisputed. This in turn helps in effectively interpreting the
law of the court.
The agreement which is based between the private parties which focus on creating
various mutual obligations which in turn is enforceable by the law. Contracts is mainly governed
7 Prizani, Oriyan
8 Poole, Jill
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by the common law, private law and statutory law9. Common law is considered to be as an effect
of the legal precedent which in turn is usually made by the judges who in turn are sitting in the
court. A common law is referred to as the body of the customary law which in turn is based on
judicial decision which in turn is administered by the common law court. Private law is
considered to be as the effective part of the civil law in the legal system which in turn is
considered to be the part of jus commune which involves relationship between the parties such as
law of torts, obligations and contracts. Private laws tends to include those terms of the agreement
between the parties is that they focus on exchanging promises. Statutory law is referred to as the
administrative and regulatory laws which in turn is passed by the executive agencies and the law
which has been created by the prior decision made by the court10. These laws are passed by the
body of legislatures which in turn might originate from state, national legislatures and local
municipalities.
CONCLUSION
From the study it has been summarized that, English contract law is considered to be as
an agreement which is enforceable by law and is based on voluntary obligations. A contract is
formed when both the parties are legally bounded by the promise and have clearly agreed upon
the promises which in turn leads to higher growth and efficiency. It has been summarized that,
key core elements associated with the contract to be valid mainly includes offer, consideration
and acceptance. The contract is governed by various governing laws which includes common
law, statutory law and private law. Doctrine of precedents states that, any decision which has
been earlier taken by the judge tends to act as a judgement for the case with similar material facts
and material. This study tends to take into consideration various English contract law cases in
order to determine the laws which has been enforceable by the law.
9 Khorooshi, Abdolazim, Habibollah Rahimi, Abbas Ghasemi Hamed, and Jalil Maleki
10 De Franceschi, Alberto
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Austen-Baker, Richard. Implied terms in English contract law. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2017.
Beale, Hugh, Bénédicte Fauvarque-Cosson, Jacobien Rutgers, and Stefan Vogenauer. Cases,
materials and text on contract law. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2019.
Cartwright, John. Contract law: An introduction to the English law of contract for the civil
lawyer. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2016.
De Franceschi, Alberto. "European contract law and the digital single market." Cambridge:
Intersentia (2016).
Fraser, Gordon Rowland. Landscape Professional Practice. Routledge, 2016.
Halson, Roger. "The recovery of damages for non-pecuniary loss in contract and tort a unified
approach." In Research Handbook on Remedies in Private Law. Edward Elgar Publishing,
2019.
Khorooshi, Abdolazim, Habibollah Rahimi, Abbas Ghasemi Hamed, and Jalil Maleki. "Basis of
Contract Clause in the UK and the Necessity for Reforming Insurance Law in Iran." J. Pol.
& L. 10 (2017): 156.
Mohamed, Ashgar Ali Ali, Mohd Akram Shair Mohamed, and Farheen Baig Sardar Baig.
"RECOVERING NON-PECUNIARY LOSSES IN BREACH OF EMPLOYMENT
CONTRACT UNDER MALAYSIAN LAW." International E-Journal of Advances in
Social Sciences 3, no. 7 (2017): 81-89.
Paterson, Jeannie. "Money Awards in Contract Law." (2016): 302.
Poole, Jill. Textbook on contract law. Oxford University Press, 2016.
Prizani, Oriyan. "The White & Carter Legitimate Interest Qualification on the Elective Theory of
Contractual Repudiations: A Reformation Proposal." Cambridge L. Rev.1 (2016): 1.
Online
Judgments - Farley v. Skinner. 2019. [ONLINE]. Available
through:<https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200102/ldjudgmt/jd011011/farley-1.htm>
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