判决理由
Terms displayed after the contract is formed are not incorporated into it. The contract is formed at the point of agreement (e.g., at the reception desk), not when the parties later encounter the terms.
事实
Mr and Mrs Olley booked in and paid for a room at the Marlborough Court Hotel at the reception desk. A notice in the bedroom stated that the proprietors would not be liable for articles lost or stolen unless handed to the management for safe keeping. While the Olleys were out, and through the negligence of hotel staff who allowed a stranger to take the room key, Mrs Olley's furs were stolen from the room. She sued the hotel for the loss.
判决摘要
The Court of Appeal held that the hotel could not rely on the exclusion notice, because the contract had already been concluded at the reception desk when the booking was made and paid for — before the guests ever went up to the bedroom and could have seen the notice. A term is incorporated into a contract only if it is brought to the other party's attention before or at the time the contract is made; a notice first seen afterwards comes too late. Since the exclusion clause formed no part of the contract, the hotel remained liable for the loss of the furs caused by the negligence of its staff. Denning LJ and Singleton LJ treated the timing of incorporation as decisive.
关键引述
"The contract was made before the plaintiffs entered the bedroom and saw the notice."
— Singleton LJ
后续处理
Key authority that contractual terms must be brought to the parties' attention before or at the time the contract is made.
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