Taylor v. Caldwell - Case Brief PDF

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Contracts II

Class 23

Taylor v. Caldwell Court: Court of the King’s Bench (1863)

Facts: On May 27, 1861; Taylor (PL) and Caldwell (DF) entered into a contract to let the PLs use the Surrey Gardens and music hall on four days for the purpose of giving a series of four concerts and day and night fetes at the garden and hall. However, the music hall burned to ground, rendering the contract impossible to perform. The PL sued to recover damages.

Issues: Whether, under these circumstances, the loss which the PL have sustained is to fall upon the DF.

Judgement: Contract is Dissolved.

Reasoning: The court looked to its precedent, finding first and foremost that, even in light of impossibility, in the majority of situations, a contract was strictly enforceable. In the minority of situations, such as when a person had died prior to marriage, the court did not enforce the contract as the specific performance by one person was found to be impossible. An artist who had gone blind was not required to pay damages for his inability to fulfill a contract. If a specific animal is sold, but dies before it is tendered, damages are not owed and the contract is dissolved. The court then held that “[t]he principle seems to us to be that in contracts in which the performance depends on the continued existence of a given person or thing, a condition is implied that the impossibility of performance arising from the perishing of the person or thing shall excuse the performance.”

Rules: The principle seems to us to be that in contracts in which the performance depends on the continued existence of a given person or thing, a condition is implied that the impossibility of performance arising from the perishing of the person or thing shall excuse the performance....