Farley v Skinner
Farley v Skinner | |
---|---|
Court | House of Lords |
Decided | 11 October 2001 |
Citation(s) | [2001] UKHL 49, [2001] 4 All ER 801 |
Transcript(s) | Full text of judgment |
Court membership | |
Judge(s) sitting | Lord Steyn, Lord Scott, Lord Browne-Wilkinson, Lord Clyde and Lord Hutton |
Farley v Skinner [2001] UKHL 49 is an English contract law case, concerning the measure and availability of damages for distress.
Facts
Mr Farley bought a large estate, Riverside House, in
The trial judge held that Mr Farley had paid no more than someone who knew of the noise, so there was no financial loss, but awarded £10,000 for distress and discomfort.
Court of Appeal
The Court of Appeal agreed with the defendant's challenge to this ruling, stating that no damages could be awarded for mere inconvenience, and physical discomfort was required to justify damages.[1]
House of Lords
The House of Lords restored the trial judge’s award, because not being put at such inconvenience was an important term.
Lord Scott held that if Mr Farley had known about the aircraft noise he would not have bought the property. He could either claim for being deprived of the contractual benefit (
‘If the cause is no more than disappointment that the contractual obligation has been broken, damages are not recoverable even if the disappointment has led to a complete mental breakdown. But, if the cause of the inconvenience or discomfort is a sensory (sight, touch, hearing, smell, taste) experience, damages can, subject to the remoteness rules, be recovered.’
Referring to the departure of this case from "an ordinary surveyor's contract", Lord Clyde said it was 'the specific provision relating to peacefulness of the property in respect of the aircraft noise which makes the present case out of the ordinary'.[2] The predominant object test was dispensed with, so it was enough that the term broken was known by both parties to have been important (it did not matter whether the purpose of the contract was to provide peace of mind). So it seems surveyors will not ordinarily be liable when a house is defective and causes distress.
References
- ^ Law Gazette, Benchmarks -- matching the damages to the distress -- the law that usually leaves distress and inconvenience to go uncompensated, published 5 July 2001, accessed 23 March 2022
- ^ Lord Clyde, Farley v. Skinner (2001) UKHL 49 (11 October 2001), paragraph 42, accessed 31 March 2022
See also
- English contract law
- Addis v Gramophone Co Ltd [1909] AC 488
- Jarvis v Swans Tours Ltd [1973] QB 233, [1973] 1 All ER 71, where purpose of contract to obtain some mental satisfaction
- Jackson v Horizon Holidays Ltd, [1975] 3 All ER 92
- UK company law) it was said contract breaking is an ‘incident of commercial life which players in the game are expected to meet with mental fortitude’