Contract; contents of a contract; terms implied by legislation; sale of goods; duty to deliver goods as identified.
Facts: Varley and Whipp met in the town of Huddersfield. Varley offered to sell a second-hand reaping machine to Whipp for £21. Varley said the machine was in the town of Upjohn. He said the machine was one year old and had only been used to cut 50 or so acres of crops. Whipp had not seen the machine, but agreed to buy it. When delivered, the machine proved to be a very old one which had obviously been broken and mended. Whipp returned it and refused to pay the price.
Issue: Had the seller delivered what was promised, so that he was entitled to be paid the agreed price?
Decision: The seller had not delivered what had been promised.
Reason: The thing sold was a specified machine, but it was bought unseen and it was identified by description. The description was 'a nearly new reaping machine then in Upjohn'. The machine delivered was not 'a nearly new machine' and the court held that it was not in the same class or category of goods as had been described. The seller had therefore failed to deliver the particular goods as identified in the contract. This was a breach of the condition, implied into sale contracts by law, that a seller must deliver the goods as identified by description in the contract. Failure to deliver goods as identified meant that the buyer did not become the owner of what had been delivered. Whipp was therefore entitled to reject the machine and was not obliged to pay for it.