Contracts Keyed to Knapp
Hadley v. Baxendale
ProfessorMelissa A. Hale
CaseCast™ – "What you need to know"
Facts
Plaintiffs operated a mill, which they were forced to shut down when the crank shaft of their steam engine broke. They contacted the manufacturer of the engine, W. Joyce & Co. (Joyce), and Joyce agreed to make a new shaft from the pattern of the old one. Therefore, a servant of Plaintiffs went to the office of Defendants, common carriers, to have the crank shaft taken to Joyce. Plaintiffs’ servant told Defendants’ clerk that the mill was shut down and the shaft must be sent immediately. The clerk informed Plaintiffs’ servant that if the shaft were given to them by twelve o’clock any day, it would be delivered by the next day. Plaintiffs took the shaft to Defendants the next day before noon. Due to Defendants’ neglect, the delivery to Joyce was delayed, and Plaintiffs did not receive the new shaft for several days after they should have received it.
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