The Sale of Goods Act in the UK - Essay Example

In the Light of Relevant Case Law, Consider How Adequately Buyers of Goods are protected by virtue of the Obligations Placed on Sellers by ss.13 and 14 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Discussion 3 Conclusion 7 References 8 Introduction The Sale of Goods Act (SGA) was introduced in the year 1979 in the United Kingdom with the objective to protect buyers. There are numerous functions of the SGA. To be precise SGA is a contract wherein the goods are purchased and sold. The SGA emphasises on the point that when a seller transfers the ownership of a product or a commodity to the buyer with the mutual consent there is a consideration because of which the exchange of these product takes place between the seller and the buyer which is referred to as the price. The SGA points down certain set of mandatory legalised rules which focuses on a range of beliefs and implied terms that intent to reveal the commercial prospects in the sales contract. The introduction of the SGA has enforced more responsibility on the part of the sellers to protect the right of the buyers. In the present day context, it has been observed that the buyers have become more conscious about the trustworthiness, abilities and verdict of the seller (Crown, n.d.). The objective of this study is to determine how the buyers of goods are protected by virtue of the Obligations Placed on Sellers by ss.13 and 14 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979. Discussion The SGA provides extra protection to the buyers and the sellers in relation to the contract for the products supplied. The SGA gets spontaneously implied on the contract amid the buyer and the seller. This act ensures the buyer concerning to the aspect of the quality, appropriateness and the standard of the products that has been purchased. Section 12-15 of the SGA concerns about different factors that is implied in the buying and selling process (In Brief.co.uk, 2014). Section 13 of the SGA is referred to as the sale by description which implies a condition that the good that has been supplied will have to resemble its description and the rule is associated towards providing favour to the buyer of product (Tufai, n.d.). Section 14 of the SGA refers to the quality of the product which implies the condition of the goods while being purchased will have to be of a satisfactory quality. In other words, the goods being sold by the seller either new or second hand while carrying out the business activity must meet the requirement for which the good is sold and must be free from any defects. However, this rule would not be applied to the buyer if in case any defect or flaw in product comes to the attention of buyer while purchasing (Marson, 2013; Sylvester, n.d.). Section 13 of the SGA is applied wherein the sellers sale the goods by providing the description of the good. However, if the buyer views the product before the occurrence of sale then this section of the SGA cannot be enforced. Section 13 focused on the description of the product and not the qualitative aspect of it (E-lawresources.co.uk, 2014; Shaw, 2008). Case Example 1: Harlington & Leinster v Christopher Hull Fine Art, 1991. In this case the claimant bought a painting from the defendant for a price of 6,000 euros. It was pronounced in the auction that the painting was created by Gabrielle Munte who was an impressionist artist from Germany. In this particular case both the seller and the buyer were dealers in art from London. The situation was that the seller was not much familiar with German paintings but the buyer had a good idea about German paintings. Therefore, before purchasing the painting the buyer sent a professional to examine the painting and at that particular time it was not identified that the painting was fake. Thus, there was an agreement amid the buyer and the seller and the painting was purchased. Nevertheless, it was revealed that the painting was a replica and was not worth 100 euros. Thus, the buyer filed a case on the seller under Section 13 of the SGA wherein it was argued that the description of the painting was not given properly. Ultimately, it was decided by the law that the buyer did not fall under the right of Section 13 under SGA. This was decided because the buyer already sent some professionals to examine the painting which meant that the agreement of sale was not done by description as the law only applies to the products that are sold by description. Therefore, the buyer was not protected for buying the forged painting (E-lawresources.co.uk, 2014). Section 14 of the SGA applies in the situation wherein the sellers sale the goods while performing the business activity. This law is not applied to the privatised sales, but there might be a breach in relation to the misrepresentation under certain conditions. The main focus of this law is that it considers that whether the products have been sold while performing the business activity. The factor that is considered under this section is when the goods are sold while performing the business activity under the contract, the product that has been supplied should involve a satisfactory quality as per the requirements of the buyer. Section 14, 2(A) of the SGA states that the quality of products is satisfactory if the expectation of the buyer meets the standard of the product along with product description and the price factor. Section 14, 2(B) of the SGA states that the qualitative aspect of the product involves fitness of the product for every purpose because of which the product has been bought, its appearance, defect free, safety and its durability (E-lawresources.co.uk, 2014). Case Example 2: Bartlett v Sidney Marcus ltd, 1965. In this particular case the claimant bought a second hand Jaguar car from Sidney Marcus ltd which was a car dealing company and the defendant as well. The defendant had already communicated to the claimant that the car had a defective factor wherein there was a problem in the clutch. However, the defendant told that there was a minor cost to be incurred while repairing clutch which would amount to merely 2 or 3 euros. Moreover, the defendant gave the choice to the claimant for either purchasing the car with a defect for an amount of 25 euros and repair the car by himself or the defendant would repair the car and charge the full amount depending upon the market price of the vehicle. Therefore, the claimant decided to purchase the car that had defects so that he could repair the car by himself and buy it at a relatively lower price and avail a huge discount. Nevertheless, when the buyer took the car to a repairing centre he witnessed that the car would cost 84 euros in order to be repaired. Therefore, the purchaser filed a case against the defendant wherein the case was to be considered under the Section 14 of the SGA. Henceforth, it was decided that the case would favour the defendant which was a car dealing company as it highlighted the defective aspect of the car to the buyer and thus the buyer could not claim his rights under Section 14 of the SGA as the law was not concerned about the misleading factor pursued by the seller (E-lawresources.co.uk, 2014). Case example 3: Stevenson v Rogers, 1999. In this case the defendant was a fisherman. The claimant bought a fishing boat from the defendant. The claimant filed a case against the defendant stating that the quality of boat was not satisfactory. Section 14 of the SGA applies only in a business activity; henceforth the defendant claimed that the boat that was sold was not during the course of business. The defendant claimed that his core business was catching and selling fish instead of buying and selling boats. Therefore, it was decided by the law that the case would go in favour of claimant as the defendant sold the boat to him during a business activity wherein he had to ensure that the quality of boat had to be of a satisfactory level (E-lawresources.co.uk, 2014). Conclusion In the year 1979, the SGA was introduced in in UK with the main aim of protecting the buyer. The SGA includes that when there is a transfer in the ownership of the goods with a mutual agreement amid the buyer and the seller there is consideration in the contract which involves price. SGA has resulted in bringing more accountability in the perception of the buyer that ensures that the right of the buyer is protected as per the law under the SGA. It can be concluded from the case law discussed above that Section 13 of the SGA, provides adequate protection to the buyers in the circumstances where the description of the goods is not provided appropriately. In such circumstances, the buyer under the Section 13 of SGA has the right to take legal actions and claim compensation for the product that has been bought. Moreover, Section 14 of the SGA includes assurance for the quality of the product must be provided. It would be worth mentioning that Section 14 provides more protection to the buyers because if the quality of the product along with its description is not provided appropriately to the buyer, it is under the right of the buyer to claim compensation for the product that has been bought. References Crown, No Date. Sale of Goods Act 1979. Chapter 54. [Online] Available at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1979/54 [Accessed March 3, 2014]. E-lawresources.co.uk, 2014. Bartlett v Sidney Marcus ltd [1965] 1 WLR 1013 Court of Appeal. Providing Resources for Studying Law. [Online] Available at: http://www.e-lawresources.co.uk/Bartlett-v-Sidney-Marcus.php [Accessed March 3, 2014]. E-lawresources.co.uk, 2014. Harlington & Leinster v Christopher Hull Fine Art [1991] 1 QB 564. Providing Resources for Studying Law. [Online] Available at: http://www.e-lawresources.co.uk/Harlington--and--Leinster-v-Christopher-Hull-Fine-Art.php [Accessed March 3, 2014]. E-lawresources.co.uk, 2014. Statutory implied terms - The Sale of Goods Act 1979 and the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. Sale of Goods Act 1979. [Online] Available at: http://www.e-lawresources.co.uk/Statutory-implied-terms.php [Accessed March 3, 2014]. E-lawresources.co.uk, 2014. Stevenson v Rogers [1999] 1 All ER 613 Court of Appeal. Providing Resources for Studying Law. [Online] Available at: http://www.e-lawresources.co.uk/Stevenson-v-Rogers.php [Accessed March 3, 2014]. In Brief.co.uk, 2014. The Sale of Goods Act. Sales-law. [Online] Available at: http://www.inbrief.co.uk/sales-law/sale-of-goods-act.htm [Accessed March 3, 2014]. Marson, J., 2013. Business Law. Oxford University Press. Shaw, S., 2010. Contract and Commercial Law (U09062). s13-Sale by Description. [Online] Available at: https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CCkQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iuc-edu.eu%2Fgroup%2Fsem1_L2%2F2010CCOMLA%2FCommlaw%25201.ppt&ei=VsoVU8uTEMeOrgfP8YCoDw&usg=AFQjCNEyvwoVQbbO19kGM69WxlhQN5NZNw&sig2=SXjeBKPi9tLt0Kk8ihgX3A&bvm=bv.62286460,d.bGQ [Accessed March 3, 2014]. Sylvester, D.J., No Date. What Rights Do Consumers Have In Contracts For Goods And Services? News Letter Article. [Online] Available at: http://darrensylvester.beep.com/files/newsletterarticle-whatrightsdoconsumershaveincontn.pdf [Accessed March 3, 2014]. Tufai, A., No Date. Sale of Goods Act 1979. ,Implied Terms About Title. [Online] Available at: http://www.lawteacher.net/PDF/Terms%20Lecture%202.pdf [Accessed March 3, 2014]. Read More