Case Summaries
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Fisher v Bell – 1961
Example case summary. Last modified: October 22, 2021
The defendant shopkeeper displayed in his shop window a flick knife accompanied by a price ticket displayed just behind it. He was charged with offering for sale a flick knife, contrary to s. 1 (1) of the Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act 1959….
Financial Matters During Marriage | Family Law Study Area | Law Teacher
Example case summary. Last modified: July 16, 2019
Financial Matters During Marriage. Before the Married Women's Property Act 1882 a woman's personal property was transferred automatically to her husband on marriage; her real property came under her husband's control but……
Hartley v Mayoh
Example case summary. Last modified: July 16, 2019
A fire broke out at the factory of the first defendants and the fire brigade attended. The factory manager directed a fireman to the main switchboard to……
Hadley v Kemp – 1999
Example case summary. Last modified: June 14, 2019
Their primary argument was that there was an oral agreement that rendered him contractually bound to distribute the publishing income….
Evans v Pontypridd Roofing Ltd
Example case summary. Last modified: July 16, 2019
Due to the negligence of the defendant roofing company, the claimant fell from a roof, causing severe injuries to his right arm….
Duffy v Lamb
Example case summary. Last modified: June 18, 2019
This case concerned the (continuing) supply of electricity to the claimant’s property. The claimant was initially a tenant of Manby Estates Limited, being……
Dunlop v New Garage
Example case summary. Last modified: October 5, 2021
The Claimant (C) manufactured and supplied goods to the Respondents (R) who were dealers and under an agreement C prohibited R from selling than their list price sold an item under the list price, hence C bought a claim in the breach of contract and wanted R to pay a sum of 5l….
Gandy v Gandy
Example case summary. Last modified: June 14, 2019
As part of a deed of separation between husband and wife, the husband agreed to pay the trustees an annual sum of money for his wife and two eldest daughters……
Haystead v DPP
Example case summary. Last modified: October 28, 2021
A man punched a woman twice in the face while she was holding her child in her arms. As a direct result of the two punches, the child fell from the women’s arms and hit his head on the floor. …
Dick Bentley v Harold Smith
Example case summary. Last modified: October 4, 2021
The claimant, Dick Bentley, was aware of the defendant, Harold Smith’s, reputation as an expert in prestige cars and requested that the defendant keep an eye out for a well vetted and kept Bentley car, as he wished to purchase one….
Hardwick v Johnson – 1978
Example case summary. Last modified: June 14, 2019
The agreement was held to be a joint contractual license. Where informal family agreements are made and the parties do not……
Gorris v Scott
Example case summary. Last modified: June 14, 2019
A ship owner, the defendant, had contracted to carry a number of sheep from a foreign port to England. Some of the sheep were washed……
E E Caledonia v Orbit Valve – Summary
Example case summary. Last modified: June 14, 2019
This case was linked to the Piper Alpha platform disaster. The Claimants made a settlement with the estate of a deceased engineer……
Easson v London & NE Railway
Example case summary. Last modified: July 16, 2019
The claimant was a four-year-old child who fell out of a moving train between stations and was injured as a result. The fall would not have been possible……
Getreide Import v Contimar
Example case summary. Last modified: June 18, 2019
A dispute arose between the parties and the defendant wanted to appeal the arbitration decision….
Gregory v Piper – Case Summary
Example case summary. Last modified: November 4, 2022
The issue in Gregory v Piper was whether a master could be liable for the trespass which occurred as a result of instructions the master gave to another in his employment….
Case Summary: Hinz v Berry – 1970
Example case summary. Last modified: February 18, 2025
A case summary for LawTeacher.net covering Hinz v Berry (1970) regarding matters of negligence, psychiatric damage and duty of care….
Esso Petroleum v Commissioners of Customs and Excise
Example case summary. Last modified: October 28, 2021
Intention to create legal relations and consideration for a contract of sale in the formation of contracts. Esso, a petrol company, by which customers would receive one free World Cup coin for every four gallons of petrol purchased….
Entores v Miles Far East Corporation
Example case summary. Last modified: September 28, 2021
Contract – Acceptance – Postal Rule – Damages – Instantaneous communication. The complainants, Entores, were a company that was based in London….
Fairchild v Glenhaven Funeral Services
Example case summary. Last modified: September 29, 2021
The bench deemed that here it would have been inherently unjust to deny the claimants any remedy. Thus, where the facts are such that the ‘but for’ test cannot be reasonably or fairly applied, the ‘materially increased risk’ of harm test may be used….
Dhanani v Crasnianski
Example case summary. Last modified: July 16, 2019
The defendant, Mr Crasnianski was a scientist and inventor. He met the claimant, Mr Dhanani by chance on the Eurostar whilst travelling from Paris to……
Hartog v Colin and Shields
Example case summary. Last modified: October 5, 2021
The defendants, Colin and Shields, were hide merchants that were based in London. The complainant, Hartog, was a furrier from Belgium. The defendants entered into an oral agreement with the complainant to sell him 30,000 Argentinian hare skins and this would be at a price of 10d per skin….
Dann v Hamilton – 1939
Example case summary. Last modified: October 5, 2021
The plaintiff, knowing that the defendant was drunk and that a road traffic accident was highly likely as a result, chose to travel by the car despite being under no compulsion to do that driven either by necessity or something else….
Edinburgh & Dalkeith Railway Co v Wauchope
Example case summary. Last modified: June 14, 2019
The case revolves around a railway that was built by through a private land owner’s property (Wauchope) and their 'compensatory' scheme of levies…
Donovan v The Face
Example case summary. Last modified: October 5, 2021
The claimant, Jason Donovan, was a successful singer. In the early 1990s, the magazine called The Face published an article alleging that Mr Donovan was homosexual….
Obtaining Property By Deception Cases
Example case summary. Last modified: July 16, 2019
Obtaining Property By Deception. The defendant had ordered a meal in a restaurant and had consumed it with an honest state of mind……
Fercometal v Mediterranean
Example case summary. Last modified: June 14, 2019
Charterers entered into an agreement with ship owners for a cargo in the vessel ‘Simona.’ A clause of the agreement allowed the charterers the option……
Gordon v Selico – 1986
Example case summary. Last modified: June 14, 2019
The claimant purchased a long lease of a flat from the first defendant and of which the second defendant was the managing agent….
ERJ Lovelock v Exportles – 1968
Example case summary. Last modified: June 14, 2019
ERJ Lovelock Ltd, the buyers agreed to purchase a quantity of timber from the sellers, Exportles, who were a joint stock company dealing……
Discharge Case Summaries
Example case summary. Last modified: September 7, 2021
Cases on discharge of contract covering the general rule and modification to it, agreement, breach, frustration and limitations of the doctrine….
The Happy Day [2002] EWCA Civ 1068
Example case summary. Last modified: July 16, 2019
A dispute arose in relation to a claim of demurrage (the charge payable to the owner for failure to discharge the ship within the agreed time)….
Doughty v Turner Manufacturing
Example case summary. Last modified: June 14, 2019
The claimant, Doughty, was an employee of the defendants, Turner Manufacturing Company, where he worked in their factory….
Exchange Telegraph v Gregory
Example case summary. Last modified: October 21, 2021
Exchange Telegraph (ET) was a news agency that sent telegraph messages. It transmitted the latest stock exchange updates, had them typed up and made into a newspaper. It contracted subscribers to sell the newspaper….
DPP v Morgan – 1976
Example case summary. Last modified: October 28, 2021
Rape – Consent – Honest Belief to Consent – No Reasonable Belief Required if Honest and Genuine Belief to Consent. The defendant was a Royal Air Force Pilot and he had invited his friends over to have sexual intercourse with his wife….
Gore v Van Der Lann
Example case summary. Last modified: June 14, 2019
The Liverpool Corporation (LC) issued free bus passes to pensioners. Pensioners were required to sign an agreement that waived the liability……
Henry Williams v James Bayley
Example case summary. Last modified: October 21, 2021
Bayley’s son took promissory notes to a bank, which he had forged in his father’s name and without his father’s knowledge. The notes were fraudulent. Bayley’s son had done this several times and gotten away with it….
Harris v Evans
Example case summary. Last modified: July 16, 2019
The plaintiff ran a business providing bungee jumping facilities to the public by using a mobile telescopic crane. In 1993, the first defendant……
Ellis v Chief Adjudication Officer
Example case summary. Last modified: June 14, 2019
The Commissioner contended the gift of the flat from mother to daughter had failed and, as such, Ms Ellis was entitled to a proportion of……
De Keyser’s Royal Hotel v Spicer Bros
Example case summary. Last modified: June 14, 2019
The defendants were constructing a building nearby to the claimant’s hotel. This involved the excavation of the foundations and pile-driving……
Harvey v Pratt – 1965
Example case summary. Last modified: June 14, 2019
The parties entered into an agreement for the lease of a petrol station and garage. The written agreement specified that the term of the lease was……
Heilbut, Symons & Co v Buckleton – 1913
Example case summary. Last modified: October 28, 2021
The defendants, Heilbut et al, were merchants during the rubber trade boom of the 1910’s who claimed to underwrite shares in a rubber trading corporation (‘Filisola Rubber and Produce Estates Ltd’)….
Edgington v Fitzmaurice – 1885
Example case summary. Last modified: September 30, 2021
The directors of a business provided a prospectus which contained a range of debentures, in order to invite subscriptions. The directors stated that the debentures were in order to enable the business to complete alterations to the buildings of the company, to develop trade and to purchase vans and horses….
Euro-Diam Ltd v Bathurst
Example case summary. Last modified: June 14, 2019
The plaintiff’s business involved the supply of precious stones at home and abroad. The plaintiff entered into a contract of indemnity……
Dubai Aluminium v Salaam
Example case summary. Last modified: October 28, 2021
A solicitor firm’s vicarious liability for a partner’s dishonest assistance to a client. The senior partner of a firm drafted a consultancy agreement and other requisite documentation for a client’s fraudulent enterprise….
Donohoe v Ingram
Example case summary. Last modified: June 14, 2019
A couple jointly occupied a home alongside their children. The father subsequently entered bankruptcy and their creditors sought to……
Great Lakes Steamship Co v Maple Leaf Milling Co
Example case summary. Last modified: June 14, 2019
The defendants had a duty to immediately lighten the complainant’s vessel on its arrival on Lake Erie. However, they failed to do so at the time when it……
Dixon v Fisher
Example case summary. Last modified: July 16, 2019
John Dixon was the owner and operator of several coal mines, some of which were owned outright by him and others were held under various leases….
Herd v Weardale Steel Co – 1915
Example case summary. Last modified: June 14, 2019
Herd (H) was a miner in a coal mine. H attended work at 9.30 am, and in the ordinary course of work he would be entitled……
DHN Food v Tower Hamlets
Example case summary. Last modified: October 21, 2021
Piercing the corporate veil – groups of companies. DHN Food Distributors Ltd v Tower Hamlets London Borough Council [1976] 1 WLR 852 Case Summary. An example of piercing the corporate veil….
G Scammell and Nephew Ltd v Ouston
Example case summary. Last modified: October 28, 2021
Ouston agreed to purchase a new motor van from Scammell but stipulated that the purchase price should be set up on a hire-purchase basis over a period of two years, with some of the figure being part-paid by a van that Ouston already owned….
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