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Exclusion Clauses : A Contract With Foghorn Cars Ltd Essay

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The scenario in hand relates to exclusion clauses which are described as, ‘. . . terms whereby one party seeks to disclaim or reduce his or her responsibility under the contract . . .’ Wheeler and Shaw, (1994). Afrosa has entered a contract with Foghorn Cars Ltd, which excludes Foghorn Cars Ltd from liability for reimbursing defective goods, ‘will refund the price of any defective goods and/or resulting losses provided . . . communicated . . . no later than ten days . . . Thereafter, Foghorn Company Ltd shall not otherwise be liable.’ To incorporate an exclusion clause into a contract it must either be a part of the contractual documentation, a consistent previous course of dealings, or through notice. The clause in question is clause 35/88 found on pg.18/35 of the contract, confirming the clause is undoubtedly a part of the contract. When incorporating an exclusion clause, clarity is required. Lord Morton in Canada Steamship lines Ltd v The King (1952) set out three rules; rule (1) being ‘If the clause contains language which expressly exempts the party seeking to rely on the clause . . . effect will be given to that provision.’ The language used in clause 35 above seems to satisfy this but if it were found not to be satisfying; the clause must then satisfy both the second and third rule, before it can exclude liability. If uncertainty in present in the description of the exclusion clause the contra proferentem rule would apply, this involves the ambiguity being

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