What are terms?
What parties of a contract have agreed on. They can be specifcally expressed between the parties or implied within the contract.
How would you define a term?
A term is a promise or obligation in a contract that forms part of the agreement and is legally binding on the parties.
What is a representation?
A statement which influences wheter a party enters a contract.
What happens when a representation is breached?
It’s called misrepresentation and doesn’t end a contract.
What factors would the courts take into account in deciding if a statment is a term or a representation?
-The importance attached to the representation
-Specialo knowledge or skill of the person making the statement
-Any time-lag between making the statement and making the contract
-Whether there is a written contract
What is the difference between a term and a representation?
-If a term is not followed there can be a claim for breach of contract
-If a representation is untrue the remedy is for misrepresentation
What is the importance attached to the representation?
Where the statement is obviously important it is seen as a term.
What case is for “The importance attached to the representation”?
Couchman v Hill
What happened in Couchman v Hill?
A heifer was being auctioned but there was said to not be pregnant however it was infact pregnant and died whilst calving after it was sold.
HELD: clearly the statement was important so it was a term.
What is special knowledeg or skill of the person making the statement?
If the person making the claim has more knowledge than the other party its likely to be a term.
What are the two cases for “special knowledge or skill of the person making the statement”?
-Oscar Chess v Williams
-Dick Bentley v Harold Smith Motors
What happened in Oscar Chess v Williams?
A car was bought from a private seller under the belief that the car was made in 1948 but it was actually 1939.
HELD: Since D was a private seller there was no special knowledge therefore it was representation.
What happened in Dick Bentley v Harold Smith Motors?
A car dealer sold a car saying it has 30k miles but it actually had 100k miles.
HELD: Was a term as dealer had more knowledge.
What is “The time lag between a statement and the contract”?
If the statement was made before the contract and doesn’t contain the statment it is likely to be representation.
What was the case for “The time lag between a statement and the contract”?
Routledge v Mckay
What happened in Routledge v Mckay?
A seller told a buyer that the motorcycle was a 1942 model but it was a 1936 model but neither of them wrote it in a contract.
HELD:since there was 7 days between negotiation and contract the statement was a term.
What is “whether there is a written contract?”
Anything the parties wanted to include as a term is within the contract (Routledge v McKay)
