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Unit 12: Law of Sales of Goods

Unconditional appropriation. The unconditional appropriation of goods may be made either by Notes
the seller with the buyer’s assent or by the buyer with the seller’s assent. Normally goods shall
be appropriated by the seller. Where he appropriates the goods to the contract, the property shall
pass to the buyer only when the latter has assented to the appropriation. The assent, however,
may be given before or after appropriation. Whether the appropriation is done by the seller or
the buyer, the assent of the other party must be obtained. Where goods are in the possession of
the buyer, he may do the appropriation.

Case Study Sale of Goods Law

he case under consideration today concerns Susan, who is a self-employed painter

and decorator and a painting firm known as “Paintplus”. Susan had bought a
Tcottage in a coastal area and had sought help from an assistant at the Paintplus store
in recommending a heavy duty masonry paint that would withstand the harsh climate
changes evident on a coastal area; and a brand of wipe-clean paint that would be suitable
for interior use in a wet area (the bathroom). The assistant at Paintplus recommended
their own brand of masonry paint (Everlast) because it was the cheapest available. Susan
checked the description on the tin and agreed that the paint appeared to be suited to her
requirements.
When asked about the bathroom paint the sales assistant told Susan that internal paints
were not his speciality, but he had heard other customers comment favourably about a
product known as “Cleaneasy”. The store had some tins of Cleaneasy going at half price
because the written description about the product had become detached from the tins some
time previously so the tins were being sold without this documentation. Susan did ask the
sales assistant if there was anything that she should know about the paint that might have
been written on the leafl et and the sales assistant said, [quote] “its standard paint so just
slap it on”.
Over time Susan had problems with both paint types she had purchased from Paintplus.
The masonry paint was easy to apply and withstood the harsh climate of winter, but over
the summer months the temperatures were “unprecedented” and the paint started peel
from the walls. The render under the paint was damaged through this and Susan had
to employ a building professional to knock of the remaining render and paint, and then
rerender and repaint the entire outside of the cottage.
Susan did not have much luck with the Cleaneasy paint either. While she was applying the
paint some of it dropped on her skin and she suffered an allergic reaction to the paint. She
needed medical treatment and was off work for three weeks because of this reaction. She
also lost a major decorating contract because of her illness. Later investigations about the
description that should have been on the tin when she bought it declared that if [quote]
“any person suffering from skin complaints or sensitivities should refrain from using this
product”.
The first question considered in this paper is whether or not Susan could claim a breach

of contract against Paintplus, and if so, on what grounds. Briefly a contract can be said to

occur when an offer is made to one party, by another, and that offer is accepted. Having
goods for sale in a shop is not considered an offer as such, but rather an invitation to treat
although a bilateral contract can be said to occur in that the buyer agrees to pay a certain
price for goods, which the seller promises to deliver. The essential parts of a contract
include the offer and acceptance, the consideration elements of the contract (seller gets the
money, buyer gets the paint) , the acceptance that the contract concerned a business rather
Contd....

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