Breach of condition vs. warranty in Tanzania. By Johnson Yesaya

Scenario

Marioo agreed by contract to perform as singer during WASAFI FESTIVALS for a three-month period. He became ill and missed 6 days of rehearsals.

CHIBUDEE, the CEO of WASAFI FESTIVALS sacked him and replaced him with another singer. 

Was Marioo in breach of condition or warranty? Argue authoritatively.

INTRODUCTION

A contract is an agreement between two or more parties which has a binding nature, in essence, the agreement with legal enforceability is said to be a contract. It creates and defines the duties, responsibilities and obligations of the parties involved in such contract . Duties, responsibilities and obligation of parties toward contract, are contained in terms and conditions of a contract. It is a good perspective that, parties who intend to enter into a contract must understand terms and conditions of an intended contract so as to prevent un-necessary disputes in future. Terms in a contract may be treated as condition or warranty depending to the nature of a contract and circumstances that may happen during performance of a contract.

Conditions are major terms, obligations and provisions set by parties in a contract, its performance is compulsory because it goes to the root of the contract, breach of conditions amount to breach of contract and an affected party may decide to repudiate a contract and claim damages. Conditions are obligations that a party is required to fulfill, such as completing a duty or task. Because it's required, it's an event that affects the contract . Conditions are classified into express and implied conditions, expressed conditions are those terms clearly expressed and agreed between parties while implied conditions are conditions that are not verbally discussed but are expected to be a part of the contract. Implied conditions might include the title of goods sold, the quality of the goods, condition of completeness and competence, and a sale by description.

Warranties are minor terms which do not affect root of a contract, breach of warranty entitle an affected party right to claim damages and not to repudiate a contract. In sale of goods, scholars argued that, warranty is a promise regarding quality and lifetime of goods. A warranty is not a guarantee . It is a mere promise. It may be enforced if it is breached by an award for the legal remedy of damages.

Generally, warranty can be explained as additional term which compliment major term, the breach of warranty do not affected the contract because they do not point to room of a contract. A warranty which touch root of a contract is no longer a warranty, it is a condition.

WAS MARIOO IN BREACH OF CONDITION OR WARRANTY

As per scenario given, marioo was in breach of warranty and not condition because the agreement was “to perform as a singer during Wasafi Festivals for a three months period” and not to attend rehearsals. The major term here was performance during festival and to attend rehearsals so this is breach of warranty which do not affect the root of contract.

Bettini v Gye  is a case where Bettini agreed by contract to perform as an opera singer for a three month period. He became ill and missed 6 days of rehearsals. The employer sacked him and replaced him with another opera singer. It was held that,

“Bettini was in breach of warranty and therefore the employer was not entitled to end the contract. Missing the rehearsals did not go to the root of the contract”.

Also in a case of Poussard v Spiers  Poussard entered an agreement to perform as an opera singer for three months. Five days (5) before the opening night she became ill and was not able to perform the first four nights. Spiers then replaced her with another opera singer. It was decided before the court of law that,

“Madame Poussard breached condition of the contract and Spiers were entitled to end the contract. She missed the opening night which was the most important performance as all the critics and publicity would be based on this night”.

CONCLUSION

In contracts, parties may enter into disputes because of these terms. But something useful to understand is which terms goes to the root of contract and which don’t. By understand root of contract one can easily act toward remedies of breach of either warranty or condition.

REFERENCE

STATUTES

1. THE LAW OF CONTRACTS ACT, CAP 345 R:E 2002

2. SALES OF GOODS ACT, CAP 214 R:E 2002

3. EMPLOYMENT AND LABOR RELATIONS ACT CAP 366 R:E 2009

CASE LAWS

1. Bettini v Gye  1876 QBD 183

2. Poussard v Spiers (1876) 1 QBD 410

ONLINE SOURCE

1.https://legaldictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Unilateral+Contract

2.https://www.upcounsel.com/differencebetween-warranty-and-condition-in-contract law

3.https://businessjargons.com/contract.html