204 Chapter 7The Sale of Goods Act 1979
the goods when they were delivered and the price at the time when the goods should have
been delivered.Damages for breach of warranty
The buyer may claim damages for breach of warranty in the following three circumstances:
(i) Where the seller breaches a warranty.
(ii) Where the seller breaches a condition and the buyer chooses to treat this as a breach of
warranty.
(iii) Where the seller breaches a condition which the buyer is compelled (by reason of
having accepted the goods or by s. 15A) to treat as a breach of warranty.
In all three of these circumstances the buyer cannot reject the goods, but can sue for
damages for breach of warranty. If the buyer has not already paid the full price, the amount
which would be claimable as damages can be deducted from the amount of the price which
is still owing.
Section 53(2) provides that the damages for breach of warranty should be calculated
using the first rule in Hadley vBaxendale. Section 53(3) provides that where the breach
is a breach of warranty of quality the buyer’s damages are generally to be the difference
between the goods in the state they were in at the time of delivery and the amount they
would have been worth if the warranty had not been breached.Example
Basil buys a tea service from a shop for £150. The tea service is not of satisfactory quality
because several of the cups are chipped. Basil does nothing about this for six months and
is therefore deemed to have accepted the goods. Basil no longer therefore has the right to
treat the contract as terminated. Basil then claims damages. If the tea service would have
been worth only £50 at the time of delivery, on account of the tea cups being chipped,
Basil’s damages will generally be £100. If at the time of delivery the tea service was worth
£150, or more than £150, Basil’s damages would be nominal only.Additional rights in consumer cases
In Chapter 3 we considered the terms implied by the SGA 1979. We also saw that when
these terms are breached a buyer who deals as a consumer is given significant new rights
by ss. 48A– 48F SGA. These additional rights are to demand repair or replacement of the
goods and, possibly, to ‘rescind’ the contract or have the price reduced. These important
new rights are set out on pp. 94 – 6.Specific performance
Section 52 SGA 1979 provides that a buyer might be able to claim specific performance of
the contract where the seller breaches an obligation to deliver specific or ascertained goods.
In Chapter 5 we examined the very limited circumstances in which an order of specific
performance will be made.The seller’s remedies
If the buyer breaches a contract of sale of goods, the seller will always be entitled to a
remedy. The remedies available are classed as either real remedies or personal remedies.