21. Remedies for Breach of Contract

This chapter discusses remedies for breach of contract. It covers damages (remoteness of damage and measure of damages; mitigation; contributory negligence; liquidated damages and penalties; and deposits, part payments, and forfeitures), specific performance (specific performance a discretionary remedy; the principle of mutuality; and the remedy of injunction), and extinction of remedies (the statutory time limits; effect of defendant’s fraud; extension of time in case of disability; effect of acknowledgement or part payment; and effect of lapse of time on equitable claims).

19. Discharge by Agreement

This chapter discusses the law on discharge by agreement. An agreement by the parties to an existing contract to extinguish the rights and obligations which have been created is itself a binding contract, provided that it is either made under seal or supported by consideration. Consideration raises no difficulty if the contract to be extinguished is still executory, for in such a case each party agrees to release his rights under the contract in consideration of a similar release by the other. The discharge in such a case is bilateral, for each party surrenders something of value. Unilateral discharge occurs when the contract to be extinguished is wholly executed only on one side – as for instance where a seller has delivered the goods but the buyer has not paid the price. A unilateral discharge is usually ineffective unless it is made under seal or unless some valuable consideration is given by the buyer. Difficult problems arise where the agreement is designed to vary the contract.

17. The Involuntary Assignment of Contractual Rights and Liabilities

This chapter discusses the law on the automatic assignment of contractual rights and liabilities, which may occur upon the death or bankruptcy of one of the contracting parties.

15. Privity of Contract Under the Law of Agency

This chapter discusses the law on contracting through agents. It covers the place of agency in English law; the formation of agency; the position of principal and agent with regard to third parties; unauthorized acts of the agent; and termination of agency.

11. Contracts Illegal by Statute or at Common Law

This chapter focuses on contracts prohibited by statute or contracts deemed illegal at common law on grounds of public policy, and discusses the consequences of illegality and proof of illegality.

5. Intention to Create Legal Relations

This chapter, which examines the requirements of intention to create legal relations, discusses its application to domestic agreements such as agreements between husband and wife and commercial agreements.

18. Performance and Breach

This chapter discusses the law on performance and breach of contact. It covers the order of performance; excuses for non-performance; whether a party who does not perform perfectly can claim payment or performance from the other party; whether an innocent party who has paid in advance can recover his payment in the event of a failure of perfect performance; whether the innocent party can terminate the contract; the effect of a repudiation or a fundamental breach; the effect of discharging the contract for a bad reason, when a good reason also exists; contractual provisions for termination; stipulations as to time; and tender of performance.

7. Unenforceable Contracts

This chapter and the next five chapters deal with cases where what looks like a contract turns out to be in someway defective. The ‘unenforceable contract’ resulted from procedural rather than substantive law. The origin of this position can be found in the passage, as long ago as 1677, of the Statute of Frauds. This chapter, which examines the history of this statute and its surviving effects in the modern law, discusses the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989; other rules about form; and the law on writing, signature, and electronic commerce.

1. Historical Introduction

This chapter discusses the history of English contract law. It covers the medieval law; the origin of assumpsit; assumpsit and debt; the doctrine of consideration; and contract law in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries.

20. Discharge Under the Doctrine of Frustration

This chapter begins with a discussion of the nature and rationale of the doctrine of frustration. It then explains the operation of the doctrine, covering the effect when parties expressly provide for the frustrating event; how a party cannot rely upon self-induced frustration; and the controversy as to whether the doctrine of frustration applies to a lease. The chapter then turns to the effect of the doctrine, covering the Law Reform (Frustrated Contracts) Act 1943 and contracts excluded from the Act.