Beale v Taylor Case Summary

What is the name of the case discussed in the text?

What year was the case of Beale v Taylor decided?

What area of law is Beale v Taylor concerned with?

The car in Beale v Taylor was advertised as a "White, 1961 Herald Convertible."

What did the buyer, Beale, find on the rear of the car that reinforced his belief it was a 1961 model?

The car in Beale v Taylor was actually a combination of two cars.

What is the main legal question raised in the Beale v Taylor case?

The court decided that the seller was not liable because the buyer should have inspected the car more thoroughly.

Can a buyer be considered to have entered into a "sale by description" agreement even if they inspected the goods?

The discrepancy between the description of the goods and the actual goods is always immediately obvious.

What section of the Sale of Goods Act was potentially violated in the Beale v Taylor case?

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 by a private seller. The advertisement described the car as a "White, 1961 Herald Convertible...".
The buyer (claimant) inspected the car and saw a "1200" disc on the rear, believing it was a complete 1961 model. He bought the car.
The car had been created by attaching the rear half of a 1961 Triumph Herald 1200 to an earlier model's front half (a 1961 model wasn't complete).

Issue

Could the seller be held liable for failing to sell "as described"?

Court Ruling

The court held the seller liable.
The description in the advertisement was relied upon by the buyer, and the vehicle did not correspond to the description.
The sale was considered a "sale by description" even though the buyer inspected the vehicle. The buyer's reliance on the description and visible part of the vehicle, (the metal disc), is part of the court ruling.

"Sale by Description" in relation to inspected goods

The answer depends on the circumstances.
Even if a buyer inspects goods, there may still be a sale by description if the buyer relied on the description.
In Beale v Taylor, the buyer's reliance on the description in the advertisement and the visible disc is the basis of the court's decision.
The discrepancy between the goods and the description in this case was not immediately obvious.

Explore the landmark case Beale v Taylor, which revolves around the sale by description under the Sale of Goods Act. This case highlights the legal implications when a seller's description does not accurately match the product sold. Understand the court's ruling and its significance in consumer protection laws.