FRUSTRATION QUESTIONS A LEVEL
1) Lou Rolls sells and restores antique bathroom fittings. One evening vandals break in and set fire
to his workshop. The workshop and all its contents are destroyed. A week before the fire Mel
had agreed to pay Lou £5,000 to restore an antique bath. As agreed, Mel paid Lou £500 when
she delivered the bath with the balance payable on completion. Lou had purchased for £1,000
some specially formulated enamel to use in the restoration. Both the bath and the enamel were
destroyed in the fire. At the time of the fire Ned, a builder, had almost completed retiling the
floor of Lou’s warehouse. It had been agreed that Lou would pay Ned £8,000 as soon as the job
was completed. Advise Lou as to his rights and liabilities to Mel and Ned taking account of the
law relating to frustration.
2) Fiona, a famous businesswoman, contracts with Grot plc, to give a speech at their annual dinner
for a fee of £10,000, half of it payable on contracting and the other half on the day of the
speech. Fiona also asks for a case of Krug champagne which Grot agree to send to her the week
before the event. The venue for the dinner fails its safety inspection the day before the dinner is
due to take place. Grot plc made the first payment of £5,000 to Fiona but forgot to send the
champagne. Later they refuse to pay the second instalment or to send the champagne. Grot
have ordered £1,000 worth of flowers for the tables which they cannot avoid paying for. Advise
Grot as to their rights and liabilities.
3) Fabian builds wooden yachts. On 1st May Fabian enters a contract with Melinda, a successful
business woman, to construct a yacht. The contract states that the hull should be constructed
from ‘zebrano’, an exotic and attractive wood and that the contract price of £600,000 should be
paid in equal instalments on the 1st June, 1st September and 1st December. While discussing
the contract on 1st May Fabian also agrees to make a scale model of the yacht for Melinda’s
office for a further £1,000 payable on the model’s completion. The model is to be carved from a
piece of wood supplied by Melinda which had been salvaged from the wreck of the Titanic. On
1st August the UK government ban the importation and use of zebrano in order to try to
preserve tropical rainforests. Neither Fabian nor any timber merchant has sufficient stocks of
zebrano to complete the yacht. At this time Fabian has only received the first payment of
£200,000 but had incurred costs of £300,000. Unfortunately, also on 1 st August, the model
yacht which was almost complete was destroyed in a small fire at the yard caused by a
lightening strike.
Advise Fabian as to his contractual rights and liabilities arising from the above facts with reference to
the doctrine of frustration
4) ‘English contract law defines the type of event which amounts to a frustrating event far too
narrowly. The courts should be more ready to relieve a party from their contractual obligations
following events which make the contract more onerous to perform.’ Discuss.
1) Lou Rolls sells and restores antique bathroom fittings. One evening vandals break in and set fire
to his workshop. The workshop and all its contents are destroyed. A week before the fire Mel
had agreed to pay Lou £5,000 to restore an antique bath. As agreed, Mel paid Lou £500 when
she delivered the bath with the balance payable on completion. Lou had purchased for £1,000
some specially formulated enamel to use in the restoration. Both the bath and the enamel were
destroyed in the fire. At the time of the fire Ned, a builder, had almost completed retiling the
floor of Lou’s warehouse. It had been agreed that Lou would pay Ned £8,000 as soon as the job
was completed. Advise Lou as to his rights and liabilities to Mel and Ned taking account of the
law relating to frustration.
2) Fiona, a famous businesswoman, contracts with Grot plc, to give a speech at their annual dinner
for a fee of £10,000, half of it payable on contracting and the other half on the day of the
speech. Fiona also asks for a case of Krug champagne which Grot agree to send to her the week
before the event. The venue for the dinner fails its safety inspection the day before the dinner is
due to take place. Grot plc made the first payment of £5,000 to Fiona but forgot to send the
champagne. Later they refuse to pay the second instalment or to send the champagne. Grot
have ordered £1,000 worth of flowers for the tables which they cannot avoid paying for. Advise
Grot as to their rights and liabilities.
3) Fabian builds wooden yachts. On 1st May Fabian enters a contract with Melinda, a successful
business woman, to construct a yacht. The contract states that the hull should be constructed
from ‘zebrano’, an exotic and attractive wood and that the contract price of £600,000 should be
paid in equal instalments on the 1st June, 1st September and 1st December. While discussing
the contract on 1st May Fabian also agrees to make a scale model of the yacht for Melinda’s
office for a further £1,000 payable on the model’s completion. The model is to be carved from a
piece of wood supplied by Melinda which had been salvaged from the wreck of the Titanic. On
1st August the UK government ban the importation and use of zebrano in order to try to
preserve tropical rainforests. Neither Fabian nor any timber merchant has sufficient stocks of
zebrano to complete the yacht. At this time Fabian has only received the first payment of
£200,000 but had incurred costs of £300,000. Unfortunately, also on 1 st August, the model
yacht which was almost complete was destroyed in a small fire at the yard caused by a
lightening strike.
Advise Fabian as to his contractual rights and liabilities arising from the above facts with reference to
the doctrine of frustration
4) ‘English contract law defines the type of event which amounts to a frustrating event far too
narrowly. The courts should be more ready to relieve a party from their contractual obligations
following events which make the contract more onerous to perform.’ Discuss.
