Victims of Wilful Deception
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THE Court of Appeal last week dis missed with costs an appeal by S. Spanglett, Ltd., furniture manufacturers, of Bethnal Green, London, from a judgment of Mr. Justice Slade ordering them to pay £3,680 damages and costs to Archbolds (Freightage), Ltd., of Jack Lane, Leeds, in an action arising out of the theft of 200 cases of whisky in transit between Leeds and London. Lord Justice Pearce said Spanglett, Ltd,, owned five vans on C licences, Archbolds' London office, as a result of a telephone conversation, employed Spanglett to carry a part load of 200 cases of whisky from Leeds to the London docks. The whisky was stolen due to negligence by the van driver. The issue in the appeal was whether Mr. Justice Slade should have held that Archbolds could not recover damages because the contract was illegal. Lord Justice Pearce said he agreed with the judge that the most wilful piece of deception had been practised upon Archbolds by Spanglett to persuade them to be allowed to carry the whisky. Archbolds believed that Spanglett's vehicles had A licences and were entitled to carry general goods. They did not know the whisky was being placed on a C-licensed vehicle. His Lordship held that the contract entered into was not illegal as Archbolds did not know the vital fact that would make the performance of the contract illegal Lords Justices Sellers and Devlin agreed.