Cases - Sunley (B) & Co Ltd v Cunard White Star Ltd

Record details

Name

Sunley (B) & Co Ltd v Cunard White Star Ltd

Date

[1940]

Citation

1 KB 740

Keywords

Construction claim - loss and expense claim - breach of contract - damages - compensatory damages - plant - idle plant - loss of use of plant - depreciation of plant - maintenance of plant - depreciation - loss of profit - written evidence - proof - delay - disruption

Summary

The defendant agreed to transport a tractor and a scraper owned by the claimant and required for the carrying out of groundworks in the Channel Islands. The defendants literally missed the boat as a result of their failure to provide proper appropriate and timely transportation to deliver the plant to port.

The claimants were deprived of the use of the plant for one week. The Court of Appeal held that the claimant was entitled to recover damages reflecting the depreciation in the value of the machinery and maintenance costs for the period in which it lay idle.

In addition to the depreciation claim, the contractor claimed loss of profit, but was unable on the facts to prove that he had lost any profit on the Channel Islands contract as a result of the week-long delay in the delivery of the plant.