129:, for 21 years, starting on 19 September at £110 a year. Then Mr Harman changed his mind and refused to complete the lease. It turned out the house was worth much more than £110 a year. Mr Harman had inherited the property from his recently deceased father. Although Mr Robinson's solicitor (whose fee was £15 12s 8d) had enquired whether the will may have vested the property in trustees, Mr Harman had said there was nothing of the sort, that it was his property out and out, and that he alone had the power of leasing. In fact trustees had got the property and Mr Harman had been entitled to only a
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The Court of
Exchequer Chamber held that where a party agrees to grant a good and valid lease, having full knowledge that he has no title, the plaintiff, in an action for the breach of such agreement, may recover, beyond his expenses, damages resulting from the loss of his bargain; and the defendant
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engrafted another exception. This case comes within the latter, by which the old common-law rule has been restored. Therefore the defendant, having undertaken to grant a valid lease, not having any colour of title, must pay the loss which the plaintiff has sustained by not having that for which he
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qualified that rule of the common law. It was there held, that contracts for the sale of real estate are merely on condition that the vendor has a good title; so that, when a person contracts to sell real property, there is an implied understanding that, if he fail to make a good title, the only
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The next question is, what damages is the plaintiff entitled to recover? The rule of the common law is, that where a party sustains a loss by reason of a breach of contract, he is, so far as money can do it, to be placed in the same situation, with respect to damages, as if the contract had been
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The exact wording was, “to grant and deliver to the plaintiff a good and valid lease of a certain dwelling-house, etc, and other hereditaments and premises in the agreement mentioned, for a term of twenty-one years from the 29th day of
September then next ensuing, at the yearly rent of
137:"lost and was deprived of great gains and profits, which would otherwise have accrued to him, and paid, expended, and incurred liability to pay divers sums of money, in and about the preparation of the said agreement and lease, etc, amounting, to wit, to £20.”
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I am of the same opinion. The damages have been assessed according to the general rule of law, that where a person makes a contract and breaks it, he must pay the whole damage sustained. Upon that general rule an exception was engrafted by the case of
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the rule of the common law is, that where a party sustains loss by reason of a breach of contract, he is, so far as money can do it to be placed in the same situation, with respect to damages, as if the contract had been
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For Mr Harman, evidence was tendered that Mr
Robinson, when he entered into the agreement, had full knowledge of the defendant's incapacity to grant the lease; but the judge ruled that such evidence was
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The rule must be discharged. The defendant contracted to grant a good and valid lease, and the learned judge was right in rejecting evidence which would go to alter the contract admitted by the plea.
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damages recoverable are the expenses which the vendee may be put to in investigating the title. The present case comes within the rule of the common law, and I am unable to distinguish it from
153:. He found that Mr Robinson was entitled to £200 (including court expenses) to cover the loss to Mr Robinson from not getting the house. Mr Harman appealed.
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cannot, under a plea of payment of money into court, give evidence that the plaintiff was aware of the defect of title.
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Mr Harman wrote a letter, dated 15 April 1846, agreeing to grant Mr
Robinson a lease on a house in High Street,
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of the rent during his life. As a result of this breach of contract Mr
Robinson, according to the plea,
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Mr Harman urged that the plaintiff could not recover damages for the loss of his bargain.
111:(at 855) on the purpose and measure of compensatory damages for breach of contract that,
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Upon general principle, I cannot distinguish this case from
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case, which is best known for a classic formulation by
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213:, and upon that exception the case of
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308:Court of Exchequer Chamber cases
57:(1848) 1 Ex Rep 850, 154 ER 363
16:Remedies for breach of contract
1:
166:'s judgment went as follows.
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303:1848 in the United Kingdom
103:(1848) 1 Ex Rep 850 is an
41:Court of Exchequer Chamber
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293:English remedy case law
182:performed. The case of
145:heard the trial at the
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231:Hopkins v Grazebrook
216:Hopkins v Grazebrook
192:Hopkins v Grazebrook
105:English contract law
313:1848 in British law
210:Flureau v Thornhill
185:Flureau v Thornhill
91:Expectation damages
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100:Robinson v Harman
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24:Robinson v Harman
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298:1848 in case law
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246:Farley v Skinner
62:Court membership
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49:18 January 1848
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143:Lord Denman CJ
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67:Judges sitting
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220:contracted.
174:James Parke
287:Categories
200:Alderson B
116:performed.
75:Alderson B
239:See also
157:Judgment
85:Keywords
54:Citation
164:Parke B
151:Assizes
149:Spring
127:Croydon
109:Parke B
79:Platt B
71:Parke B
46:Decided
266:£110”.
202:said,
147:Surrey
131:moiety
253:Notes
121:Facts
38:Court
77:and
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73:,
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