Taylor v Caldwell

Ratio Decidendi

Hechos

Taylor agreed to hire the Surrey Gardens and Music Hall from Caldwell for four days to hold concerts. Before the first concert, the hall was destroyed by an accidental fire. Taylor sued for damages for loss of profits.

Resumen de la sentencia

Blackburn J, giving the judgment of the Queen's Bench, held that the contract to hire the Surrey Gardens and Music Hall was discharged when the hall was accidentally destroyed by fire before the concerts, so neither party was liable to the other and Taylor could not recover damages for his wasted advertising and preparation. The court reasoned that a contract whose performance depends on the continued existence of a specific thing is subject to an implied condition that the parties will be excused if performance becomes impossible because that thing perishes without the fault of either of them. Since the hall — essential to the concerts — had ceased to exist, the foundation of the contract was gone and both parties were released from their obligations. This displaced the older rule of absolute contractual liability in Paradine v Jane and is regarded as the origin of the modern doctrine of frustration, later rationalised in Davis Contractors v Fareham UDC and supplemented by the Law Reform (Frustrated Contracts) Act 1943.

Citas clave

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