Cases - Esso Petroleum Co. Ltd v Mardon

Record details

Name
Esso Petroleum Co. Ltd v Mardon
Date
[1976]
Citation
QB 801
Legislation
Keywords
Contract administration
Summary

A counterclaim for negligent misrepresentation and/or breach of warranty by a tenant of a petrol station succeeded against the lessor oil company because the oil company's representation made by its representative during pre-contractual negotiations of the potential throughput of the petrol station was made negligently and/or in breach of the warranty.

The statement was a negligent representation made by a party who held itself out as having special expertise in circumstances that gave rise to a duty to take reasonable care to see that the representation was correct.

The statement also amounted to a warranty as to the potential throughput of the petrol station, in that it was a crucial matter made by a party who had or professed to have special knowledge and skill and was made with the intention of inducing the tenant to enter into the contract.

The measure of damages was the same whether the action was founded in contract or in tort, i.e. the damages that the defendant had lost by being induced to enter into the contract.