Question 2 OR (a)
Unpaid seller; buyer with abnormally sensitive skin; lien and stoppage in transit
9 marks
- Time to write
- About 18 minutes
From an older CBCS paper
Question
Question 2 OR (a) · 9 marks“Only when the buyer has not paid the price does a seller become an unpaid seller.” Comment.
A lady who knew her skin to be abnormally sensitive bought a coat, and using it gave her skin trouble. She had not told the seller about her abnormally sensitive skin. Can the seller be held liable?
Distinguish the right of lien from the right of stoppage of goods in transit.
Reworded from the university paper; the task is the same. The original paper belongs to the University of Delhi. See DU's question bank.
Before you write
Read off the question and its marks
Read from the question
- Can the seller…?A case problem: state the rule and its section, apply it to these facts, then answer in one line (yes or no, and why).
- (i)–(iii)3 items, each marked on its own: give each its share.
- CommentA statement to judge: take a stand on it in your first line, and come back to it at the end.
- DistinguishSet the differences out in a table, basis by basis, not as two separate essays.
Write it in this order
The parts stand alone: start with the one you are surest of.
- Read the facts; underline who did what, and the exact question 1 min
- 1 (i) Unpaid seller 3 marks 5 min
- 2 (ii) Abnormally sensitive skin 3 marks 5 min
- 3 (iii) Lien and stoppage in transit 3 marks 5 min
- Check: section named, answer stated in one line 2 min
Short on time? A few lines on every part beat a full answer to one: each part is capped at its own marks.
Try it first. About 18 minutes for 9 marks. Write it out, then open the solution.
Solution
Hover or tap a marked figure, like 72,000, to see how it is made and where else it appears.
(i) Unpaid seller: the statement is incomplete. A seller does not stop being "unpaid" just because some money has changed hands. Under section 45(1) of the Sale of Goods Act, 1930 he is unpaid in two situations: when any part of the price is still unpaid or untendered and he has an immediate right to sue for it, and when he accepted a bill of exchange or other negotiable instrument as conditional payment and the condition failed, for example because it was dishonoured. Example (ours): a wholesaler who sells rice on thirty days' credit becomes an unpaid seller once the thirty days have run and the price is still outstanding, and so does one who received half the price in cash and a cheque for the rest that is dishonoured.
(ii) The coat and the sensitive skin: the seller is not liable. The general rule, in section 16 of the Sale of Goods Act, 1930, is caveat emptor: the seller gives no implied promise that goods suit the buyer's particular purpose. He answers for fitness only when the buyer tells him the purpose and relies on his skill and judgment. A peculiarity of the buyer that she keeps to herself is not a purpose she made known, and the seller, unaware of it, cannot have been relied on to provide for it. The lady here did not disclose her condition, so the seller cannot be held liable.
(iii) Lien and stoppage in transit. Both are rights of the unpaid seller against the goods (section 46), but they operate at different stages: lien while he still holds the goods, stoppage after he has handed them to a carrier and the buyer has become insolvent.
| Basis | Lien | Stoppage in transit |
|---|---|---|
| When it operates | Before the goods leave the seller | After they leave him, while they are on the way |
| What it does | Lets him keep the goods | Lets him get them back from the carrier |
| Buyer's insolvency | Not required | Required |
| Who holds the goods | The seller | The carrier |
Where the 9 marks sit
| # | Component | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | (i) Unpaid seller | 3 |
| 2 | (ii) Abnormally sensitive skin | 3 |
| 3 | (iii) Lien and stoppage in transit | 3 |
| Total | 9 |
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