Decided 20 March 1956 | End date March 20, 1956 | |
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Citation(s) [1956] EWCA Civ 3, [1956] 1 WLR 461; [1956] 2 All ER 121; [1956] 1 Lloyd's Rep 392 Court Court of Appeal of England and Wales Judge sittings Alfred Denning, Baron Denning Similar Chapelton v Barry UDC, Thornton v Shoe Lane Parking Ltd, Parker v South Eastern R, Olley v Marlborough Court Ltd, L'Estrange v F Graucob | ||
J Spurling Ltd v Bradshaw [1956] EWCA Civ 3 is an English contract law and English property law case on exclusion clauses and bailment. It is best known for Denning LJ's red hand rule comment where he said,
Contents
Facts
J Spurling Ltd had a warehouse in East London. Mr Andrew Bradshaw had seven barrels of orange juice. He asked Spurling Ltd to store them. In the contract was the "London lighterage clause" which exempted warehousemen from liability due to their negligence. When the barrels were collected, they were damaged. When Bradshaw refused to pay Spurling Ltd, the company sued for the cost. Bradshaw counterclaimed for damages for breach of an implied term of a contract of bailment to take reasonable care.
Judgment
Denning LJ, Morris LJ and Parker LJ held that although the warehouse employees were negligent, the clause effectively exempted them.
Denning LJ's judgment went as follows. Note that his reference to the concept of a fundamental breach precluding an exclusion of liability was rejected by the House of Lords some years later in Photo Production Ltd v Securicor Transport Ltd [1980] AC 827.