ABSTRACT
L’Estrange v F Graucob Ltd (1934) KBDC The plaintiff owned a café in Llandudno; the defendants manufactured and sold slot machines. Two of the defendants’ representatives called on the plaintiff who agreed to buy a cigarette machine from the defendants. The plaintiff signed a document headed ‘Sales agreement’ which she believed was an order form for the machine. She had not read the document and was not aware of its full contents. When the machine failed to operate properly, the plaintiff attempted to withdraw from the contract and claimed a refund of her deposit. The plaintiff argued that there was an implied term in the contract that the machine would be reasonably fit for its purpose. The defendants counter claimed for the £70 remaining purchase price of the machine arguing that there was no implied term because the contract included (in what Maugham LJ called ‘regrettably small print’) this clause:
This agreement contains all the terms and conditions under which I agree to purchase the machine specified above and any express or implied condition, statement, or warranty, statutory or otherwise not stated herein is hereby excluded.
