It will be seen that these two sub-sections set out three separate obligations. Of these, by far the most important is that set out in s 12, under which the seller undertakes that he has the right to sell the goods. It is important to note that the seller is in breach of this obligation, even though he believes that he is entitled to sell the goods and even though the buyer’s enjoyment of the goods is never disturbed.
Meaning of ‘right to sell’
There are cases where the seller has no right to sell, but does transfer ownership because it is one of the exceptional cases where a no owner seller can make the buyer owner. In most cases, the seller will be entitled to sell, either because she is the owner or the agent of the owner or because she will be able to acquire ownership before property is to pass (as will be the case with future goods). Perhaps, surprisingly, it has been held that even though the seller is the owner, she may, in exceptional circumstances, not have a right to sell the goods.Enjoy your movies and series totally free here Hdhub4u
To what remedy is the buyer entitled if the seller breaks his obligation under s 12(1)?
The buyer can certainly recover, by way of damages, any loss which he has suffered because of the breach. Further, the seller’s obligation is stated to be a condition and the buyer is generally entitled to reject the goods when there is a breach of condition. In practice, however, it will very seldom be possible to use this remedy because the buyer will not usually know until well after the goods have been delivered, that the seller has no right to sell.
Scope of Rowland v Duvall
Rowland v Duvall was carried a stage further in Butterworth v Kingsway Motors (1954). Here X, who was in possession of a car under a hire purchase agreement, sold it to Y before he had paid all the instalments. Y sold the car to Z, who sold it to the defendant, who sold it to the plaintiff. X, meanwhile, continued to pay the instalments. Several months later, the plaintiff discovered that the car was subject to a hire purchase agreement and demanded the return of the price from the defendant. Eight days later, X paid the last installment and exercised his option under the hire purchase contract to buy the car.
Subsidiary obligations
A good example of the operation of the warranty of quiet possession under s 12 is Micro beads v Pinehurst Road Markings (1975). In this case, the buyer found himself subject to a claim by a patentee of a patent affecting the goods. The patent had not in fact existed at the time the goods were sold and there was, accordingly, no breach of s 12(1). The Court of Appeal held, however, that s 12(2) covered the case where the patent was issued after the sale.
Can the seller exclude his or her liability under s 12?
The seller is permitted to contract on the basis that he only undertakes to transfer whatever title he actually has. In other words, the seller may say, ‘I do not know whether I am owner or not but, if I am, I will transfer ownership to you’.
The passing of property
This section deals with the rules of English law which decide when ownership is to pass from seller to buyer. Why is this question important? There are two main reasons. The first is that as a matter of technique, English law makes some other questions turn on the answer to this question. So, as a rule, the passing of risk is linked to the passing of property, as is the seller’s right to sue for the price, under s
Retention of title clauses
We have seen in the previous section that, subject to the goods being ascertained, the parties may make whatever agreement they like about when property is to pass. So, property may pass even though the goods have not been delivered and the price not yet paid. Conversely, the parties may agree that the property is not to pass even though the goods have been delivered and paid for. It is very likely that a seller who employs standard conditions of sale and normally gives her customers credit will wish to provide that property does not pass simply on delivery but only at some later stage such as when payment is made.You Get all Info About mp3 juices
Lastly Comment
It is important to note the width of the basic clause about transfer of ownership. The goods were being supplied regularly on credit terms. In such a situation, it is perfectly possible even though the goods are being punctiliously paid for on time that there is always money outstanding to the seller so that property never passes at all. So, if the standard credit terms of the trade are to pay 28 days after delivery of the invoice and there are deliveries of goods every 21 days there will nearly always be money owing to the seller, even though the buyer is paying on time.
