Facts
- The defendant required assistance at his ship, so arranged it with the claimant
- The claimant told the defendant that he was 30 miles away, which was a mistake, he was actually over 400 miles away
- The defendant ‘cancelled the contract’ and contracted with another party for assistance
- The claimant sued for the contract fee
Issue
- Could the assistance contract be voided?
Decision
- No
Reasoning
- Simply a matter of quality of performance, not void for common mistake
- Common mistake requires a common assumption made with no warranty or fault which makes performance of the contract impossible and is fundamental to the contract
- Solle v Butcher [1950] doubted, Bell v Lever Bros [1932] applied.
