Once upon a time, a king could change the law with a wave of his hand. Edward VII did it by getting appendicitis. Read on to find out more.
Two days before his coronation, Edward VII was diagnosed with appendicitis. This wasn’t only bad news for him: lots of people had made expensive arrangements to watch the coronation and the events surrounding it.
Nobody likes to be out of pocket, so people immediately began trying to wriggle out of their contracts. These “coronation cases” resulted in an important change in English contract law.
In Krell v Henry, the defendant had agreed to hire a flat with a good view of the street to watch the coronation. When the coronation was cancelled, he refused to pay.
The judge ruled that the flat had been rented out for the sole purpose of watching the coronation, so the cancellation made the contract impossible to fulfil. Mr Henry did not have to pay. This way of ending a contract is known as frustration.
Not everyone was this lucky. In Herne Bay Steamboat Co v Hutton, the defendant had hired a boat to watch a naval show put on for the coronation, and for an evening cruise.
At first, the ruling was the same as in Krell v Henry. However, at appeal it was judged that the boat was not hired solely to watch the show, but to go for a cruise which included the show. This meant that the contract could still be fulfilled, so Mr Hutton had to pay.
Along with the other coronation cases, these set important precedents for frustration of contracts that are still significant today.
Edward, meanwhile, recovered thanks to an operation that drained his appendix. At the time, appendicitis was often fatal and surgery was unusual, making this one of the few illnesses to change the history of both law and medicine.
When should you be able to get out of a contract? Share your thoughts in the comments box below.
Current rating:
$articleHandle.ratingString Stars
Raising money for charity is a really good and rewarding way to spend your holidays, but it doesn’t have to involve shaking collecting tins in people’s faces. Read on for some top tips to put the ‘fun’ into fundraising.
If you think the new wave of 3D films, TVs and videogames are exciting, imagine watching a star explode in 3D.
Any comments?