LAB Case
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CONTRACTS AND FINALITY OF SIGNATURE:
COYS OF KENSINGTON AUTOMOBILES LTD
VS
TIZIANA PUGLIESE
BY GROUP 3
CASE FACTS
COYS OF KENSINGTON AUTOMOBILES LTD
●Specialised in auction of bidding classic
motor cars based in England
●Conducted an auction in Monaco
●Had given two options to register for the
auction -
Site bidding
Telephone bidding
●Registration forms were different in both the
cases
TIZIANA PUGLIESE
●An Italian national visiting Monaco
●Submitted the telephone registration form for the
Kensington auction
●Bid for Bentley on the day of auction over phone
●Was the highest bidder and awarded the contract
on June 12 th ,2019
●Did not pay for the contract claiming she did not
participate in the auction
Learnings from L’Estrange v F Graucob, Ltd
● If a party has signed a document
containing contractual terms , it is
objectively presumed that they
understand the terms.
●This implies that the party can not say
that they did not read the terms of the
contract.
●A contract in writing is formed when a
signed offer is accepted by any modality
of communication.
Contentions raised
by Tiziana Pugliese
Contention 1 – Incorporation of Catalogue
She was unaware of the catalogue and conditions of the auction.
COURT’S RESPONSE -
The form of the auction referred to the Conditions of Business
printed in the catalogue. Such a reference is sufficient for there
to be consensus and there is no need for actual terms to be in
the possession of Tiziana.
Contention 2 – Foreign Language and Incomprehension
She could not understand the relevant terms sufficiently as she had almost
no understanding of written or spoken English.
COURT’S RESPONSE -
• The court did not consider this as the strong argument as
she was able fill the lot number and the description of the
Car in English.
• It further stated that under such circumstances she cannot
avoid the consequences by saying that she did not read or
understand the conditions written in English.
Telephone
Registration
Form
Source - Annexure of Coys and
Kensington Automobile Ltd.
Contention 3 - Signing at the wrong place
Last line reads,
“ All bid shall be treated as offers made within the ‘Conditions of
business’ and ‘Important Notice’ printed in the catalogue.”
• Tiziana proclaimed that the signature was not under or near any
relevant content of the Form.
• The Form also lacked enforcement or binding words like, “ I agree to
abide by the terms.” Hence she claimed that her signature cannot
be equated to her concurrence to the terms.
COURT’S TAKE ON THE CONTENTION
● The court rejected the validity of misunderstanding the purpose of the
signature.
● It held the importance of signing a form above the position and the
misinterpretation.
● The court also finds her signature as a direct acknowledgement to the
terms stated in the form.
● Though the wordings could have been more lucid, the fact that she
completed the table below the signature, stands as a testament to the
interpretation.
● Small and gibberish content and the absence of unusual consensus
overrides the absence of signpost.
LEARNINGS FROM THE CASE: Coys of Kensington Automobiles
limited V Tiziana Pugliese
●Signing means concurrence with what the terms state
●To make a contract in writing, offer- writing & signed, accept- any modality
●Unfamiliarity with a language- Irrelevant
●Not signing at the correct place- Irrelevant
●However, a contract can be set aside if the contract is induced by fraud or
misrepresentation
Thank you.