Sale of Goods Act 1979 as amended by the Sale and
Supply of Goods Act 1994
Passing of property: determined by the parties, providing the goods have
been ‘ascertained’, or identified. If not then sections 16 to 18 apply.
Risk: may be negotiated by the parties, but otherwise will pass when the
property passes.
Terms implied by sections 12 to 15:
- Title: section 12 implies a condition that the seller has a right to sell the
goods – Rowland v Divall. - Sale by description: section 13 implies a condition that the goods sold
will be as described – Beale v Taylor, Harlingdon and Leinster v
Christopher Hull Fine Art. - Satisfactory quality: section 14(2) (amended by section 1 of the Sale and
Supply of Goods Act 1994). Only applies to sales in the course of a
business – caveat emptor applies to private sales. See Bernstein v
Pamsons Motors, Rogers v Parish. See section 14 (2C) re. matters
specifically brought to the buyer’s attention. - Fitness for a particular purpose: section 14(3) implies a condition that
goods will be fit for any particular purpose made known by the buyer to
the seller – Griffiths v Peter Conway, Priest v Last, Ashington Piggeries
v Christopher Hill. - Sale by sample: section 15 implies a condition that the sample will
correspond with the whole of the goods in quality – Drummond v Van Ingen.
Exclusion: under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977, section 12 cannot be
excluded from any contract. Sections 13 to 15 cannot be excluded from
a consumer contract and can only be excluded from other contracts
if reasonable.
Acceptance: the buyer should have a chance to examine the goods.
Acceptance may be by words or actions, or by lapse of time.
The Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982
The Act implies similar conditions into contracts as the Sale of Goods Act.
Sections 2–5 cover the supply of goods (the ‘materials’ element) and
sections 13–15 cover the supply of services (the ‘work’ element). The work
must be done with reasonable care and skill, within a reasonable time, and
at a reasonable price.
The Consumer Protection Act 1987
Imposes liability on the manufacturer for defective products and on the
retailer for ‘own brand’ products.
250 Contract law