First Principles of Business Law

11.3. Identifying the material facts of a case

The first step in problem solving is to identify the material facts of the case.  Material facts are those facts that are properly regarded as significant in determining the essential nature and scope of the case.  They are the facts which are properly taken into account when finding and applying the law to decide the case. 

Case study: X, a café owner, agrees to buy 500 kilograms of coffee beans from W, a supplier, for a price of $2000.  W tells X that the beans are packed and ready for delivery.  W says he wants payment to be made before X takes delivery.  X says that he will only pay for the beans after they have been delivered and when he has had time to organise payment from his bank account. X needs the beans urgently because his supplies are running low. W has not supplied coffee beans to X before this occasion.

In this example, is it a material fact that:

(1) The agreement is one of purchase and sale?

(2) The goods in question are coffee beans?

(3) W wants payment before delivery?

(4) X’s supplies are running low?

(5) X wants to pay only after taking delivery?