Contract; performance; sale of goods; implied condition requiring delivery of goods fit for the buyer's purpose.
Facts: McWilliams Wines bought half a million corks from Liaweena, a cork merchant. The corks were described in the agreement in considerable detail and corks in accordance with those specifications were delivered. However the corks contained a substance which affected wine badly and made the wine unsaleable.
Issue: Was the seller obliged to deliver corks that, in addition to answering the agreed specifications, were also suitable for the purpose of sealing bottles containing wine?
Decision: In the circumstances it was an implied term of the agreement that the corks should be suitable for the buyer's purpose.
Reason: The parties knew each other from previous transactions, and McWilliams had made known to Liaweena that it was relying on Liaweena to supply corks that were not contaminated in some unseen way that would damage wine. Liaweena had failed to deliver corks in accordance with this obligation.