Cases - Rimmer v Knowles

Record details

Name

Rimmer v Knowles

Date

(1874)

Citation

30 LT 496

Keywords

Estate agency

Summary

The plaintiff agent was instructed to find a purchaser of the defendant's land. He introduced a buyer who offered £2,600, but the defendant wanted £3,000. The deadlock was resolved by an agreement granting the buyer a 999-year lease at a rent of 5% of the sum required by the defendant (£150 p.a.) with an option to purchase in the first 20 years. This was held to be a sale in the ordinary sense of the word, though not in the legal sense, because it enabled the buyer to pay the £3,000 'by degrees' as it was coupled with an option to purchase. The judges were unanimous in finding that the plaintiff substantially performed his agreement and so was entitled to his commission.