Explain the importance of George Mitchell (Chesterhall) Ltd v Finney Lock Seeds Ltd in the development of contract law. How does Section 55 relate to Schedule 2 of the Unfair Contract Terms Act?
by
dxb625 (student)
The matter highlighted in the case of George Mitchell (Chesterhall) Ltd v Finney Lock Seeds, in which Finney Lock Seeds sold George Mitchell (Chesterhall) Ltd the wrong kind of seeds than had been mutually agreed upon, resulting in a bad crop and long-term losses for the plaintiff. The case is a dispute as to whether the defendant was liable to refund the cost of the seeds or if the defendant was liable for compensating the cost of the seeds and furthermore the compensation for the losses incurred by the plaintiff as a result. Refunding only the cost of the seeds is a common law issue, while further compensation is a statutory issue.
Section 55 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 states that if liability should arise under the contract of sale of goods it may be cancelled out or varied by agreement but the preceding provision has effects subject to the following provisions: “In the case of a contract for the sale of goods, any term of that or any other contract [could be interpreted as any contracts that are not for the sale of goods] is void in the case of a consumer sale and is, in any other case, not enforceable to the extent that it is shown that it would not be fair and reasonable to allow reliance on the term.”
