Jump to content

Woods v N J Ellingham & Co Ltd

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Woods v N J Ellingham & Co Ltd
CourtHigh Court of New Zealand
Full case name Woods v N J Ellingham & Co Ltd
Citation[1977] 1 NZLR 218
Court membership
Judge sittingHenry J

Woods v N J Ellingham & Co Ltd [1977] 1 NZLR 218 is a cited case in New Zealand regarding implied terms in a contract.[1][2]

Background

[edit]

Ellingham was a drainlayer contractor contracted to construct a water treatment plant on the Waikato River, and used Woods as a subcontractor. Woods later experienced abnormal terrain at the site, and later abandoned the job before it had completed the contract.

Woods sued for breach of contract, and NJE defended the matter on the basis that they had experienced abnormal terrain on the job, and so were entitled under implied custom in drainlaying contracts to be paid extra for such work.

Held

[edit]

The court ruled that Woods had not proved that there was such an implied custom existed, and were accordingly ordered to pay damages.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Chetwin, Maree; Graw, Stephen; Tiong, Raymond (2006). An introduction to the Law of Contract in New Zealand (4th ed.). Thomson Brookers. p. 194. ISBN 0-86472-555-8.
  2. ^ Walker, Campbell (2004). Butterworths Student Companion Contract (4th ed.). LexisNexis. pp. 87–88. ISBN 0-408-71770-X.