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Landmark Case

Taylor v Caldwell

Contract Law

Taylor v Caldwell is an 1863 English contract law case, decided by Mr Justice Blackburn of the Court of Queen's Bench, which established the common law doctrine of impossibility, the ancestor of the modern doctrine of frustration. Surrey Gardens Music Hall, which the defendants had contracted to let to the plaintiffs for a series of concerts, burned down before the first concert; Blackburn J held that its continued existence was an implied condition of the contract and that its destruction, the fault of neither party, excused both sides from performance. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Decision Year
1863 1
Decision Date
1863-05-06 1
Holding
Held that the continued existence of the music hall was an implied condition essential to the contract, and that its destruction by fire, the fault of neither party, rendered performance impossible and excused both parties from their obligations. 1
Current Status
Foundational; opened the door to the modern doctrine of contract frustration, though the ruling itself was narrow. 1
Case Status
Case Status (category)
Controlling Precedent 1
Connections

Decided By

Court of King's Bench (England), Courts
Source Taylor v Caldwell (Wikipedia)

Established

Frustration of Purpose, Doctrines
Source Taylor v Caldwell (Wikipedia)

In Legal System

English Law, Legal Systems
In the Other Atlases

Found In

United Kingdom

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Sources
1. Taylor v Caldwell (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia
  • Lede (case description)
    is a landmark English contract law case, with an opinion delivered by Mr Justice Blackburn which established the doctrine of common law impossibility.
  • Infobox: citations
    [1863] EWHC QB J1, (1863) 3 B & S 826, 122 ER 309
  • Infobox: date decided
    6 May 1863
  • Judgment section (final holding sentence)
    Blackburn J thus held that both parties were excused from their obligations under their contract.
  • Importance section
    This ruling, although quite narrow, opened the door for the modern doctrine of contract avoidance by frustration.
  • Lead
    which established the doctrine of common law impossibility
  • Established: Frustration of Purpose, Importance section (doctrine origin edge)
    Until this case, parties to a contract were held to be absolutely bound and a failure to perform was not excused by radically changed circumstances. Instead, the contract was breached, and that gave rise to a claim for damages. This ruling, although quite narrow, opened the door for the modern doctrine of contract avoidance by frustration.
  • Decided By: Court of King's Bench (England), Infobox court field: Court of Queen's Bench
  • In Group: Frustration and Damages Cases, Introduction, sentence 1
    Taylor v Caldwell is a landmark English contract law case, with an opinion delivered by Mr Justice Blackburn which established the doctrine of common law impossibility.
View the Source
Wikidata: Taylor v Caldwell
Wikidata Q7690211, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source
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