Contract; contents; assent to express terms in signed document.
Facts: Graucob Ltd agreed to sell a cigarette vending machine to L'Estrange. To complete the transaction, Graucob gave L'Estrange a document to sign. The document had the heading 'Sales Agreement' and it included a clause that expressly excluded any implied warranties or conditions from the agreement. L'Estrange signed the document without reading it. After delivery, the vending machine proved unsatisfactory. L'Estrange brought an action for breach of contract against Graucob, alleging breach of an implied condition that the machine would be reasonably fit for the purpose for which it was bought. Although such a condition would normally have become part of the contract by virtue of the relevant sale of goods legislation, Graucob argued that the agreed terms of the 'Sales Agreement' excluded any such condition from becoming part of their contract.
Issue: Was L'Estrange bound by the provision in the contract that excluded any additional implied warranties or conditions, even though she had not read the contract before signing it?
Decision: L'Estrange was bound by the terms of the document she had signed.
Reason: When a person signs what is clearly a contractual document, and they have not been induced to do so by any fraud or misrepresentation, they cannot later say that they did not agree to be bound by the terms of that document, even if they did not read them before signing. The reasonable inference in these circumstances is that they have agreed to be bound by the terms contained in the document they have signed.