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Section 12 implies a condition that the seller has a right to sell the goods.
This is so fundamental to a contract of sale of goods that it is implied into
all such contracts. Under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 section 6(1)
a party may not use a contract term to exclude liability under section 12.
Sale by description
Section 13 implies a condition that the goods sold will be as described. This
applies to all contracts for the sale of goods. Under the Unfair Contract
Terms Act 1977 sections 6(2) and 6(3), a party may not exclude the
provision in section 13 if the buyer is dealing as a consumer, but can
exclude it in other circumstances if it is reasonable to do so.
However, there must be reliance on the description. There is likely to be
important where the buyer selects the goods, as stated in Grant v Australian
Knitting Mills Ltd (1936), and where the description itself was an important
factor in identifying the goods: Ashington Piggeries v Christopher Hill
Smith (1972). In Harlingdon and Leinster v Christopher Hull Fine Art
(1990) there was no reliance on any claims about a painting, since it was
bought at ‘own risk’. This section is increasingly important in self-service
shopping, with reliance on signs, packets, etc.
Satisfactory quality
Section 14(2) of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 implied a term that goods will
be of ‘merchantable’ quality. From January 1995 the Sale and Supply of
Goods Act 1994 section 1 has changed this to ‘satisfactory’ quality.
Consumer protection 239Rowland v Divall (1923)
The plaintiff bought a car from the defendant but later found out that it
was stolen. This meant that the defendant was not, at the time that the car
was sold, the legal owner, so the plaintiff was entitled to the refund of the
purchase price, even though he had used the car for a period of time.Beale v Taylor (1967)
An advertisement read ‘Herald, convertible white 1961’. In fact the car
consisted of two ‘half cars’ joined together, the back half of a 1961
model and the front of an older model.What differences, if any, can you see between these two words?