There certainly are some cases where subcontracting has deprived a claimant of the right to the price. A nice one is the solicitors' case of Pearless de Rougemont & Co v Pilbrow [1999] 3 All E.R. 355, where a law firm delegated a job in breach of contract to an unqualified employee: the court was clear that however well the latter actually did the job the firm hadn't rendered contractual performance and couldn't claim their fee. -Andrew

Dear Colleagues:

 

Suppose that A wants to ship something (a book) from Toronto to X in another location. A contracts with B Ltd. to do the shipping. The book arrives and X takes possession. It turns out that as a matter of fact B Ltd. did not do the shipping (or all of the shipping) but instead that other contractors did. Can A sue for breach? Can A refuse to pay the contract price if it is demanded by B Ltd? Why is the answer to these questions generally no? Is it just a question of contract interpretation or is there some legal recognition that B Ltd actually performed the contract through the “agency” of the other contractors, who performed on B Ltd’s behalf?

 

If anyone has any views on this or knows of any good discussions in caselaw, article or textbooks, I would be delighted to be pointed in the right direction.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Jason Neyers
Professor of Law
Faculty of Law
Western University
Law Building Rm 26
e. jneyers@uwo.ca
t. 519.661.2111 (x88435)

 

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