Beale v Taylor Case Study

Case Name and Citation

• Beale v Taylor [1967] 1 WLR 1193; [1967] 3 All ER 253
• Jurisdiction: England and Wales
• Year of the case: 1967

Area of Law

• Sale by Description, Sale of Goods Act

Case Summary

• English case law concerning the implied condition of "sale by description" in a contract of sale of goods.
• A 1961 Triumph Herald was advertised for sale as a "white, 1961 Herald Convertible."
• The buyer inspected the car and saw a "1200" disc on the rear.
• The buyer believed the car conformed to the description and purchased it.
• In actuality, the car was a combination of two different Triumph Herald models (front half of an earlier model joined to the rear half of a 1961 model).

Issue

• Could the seller of the car be held accountable for failing to fulfill the sale description?

Court's Decision

• The vendor was held liable.
• The description in the advertisement was relied upon by the buyer.
• The car did not correspond to the description.

Sale by Description in Inspected Goods

• The answer depends on context.
• Even if the buyer inspected the goods, there can still be a "sale by description" if the buyer relied on descriptions.
• In Beale v Taylor, the fact that the buyer relied on both the advertisement and the visual inspection (metal disc) was sufficient to breach the sales agreement.
• Discrepancies between goods and descriptions might not be obvious immediately.