Question 1 (a)
A stranger to a contract cannot sue: the rule and its exceptions
10 marks
- Time to write
- About 20 minutes
From an older CBCS paper
Question
Question 1 (a) · 10 marks“A stranger to a contract cannot sue.” Giving the exceptions, if any, Comment on this statement.
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
- CommentA statement to judge: take a stand on it in your first line, and come back to it at the end.
Write it in this order
- Read; underline the asks; jot your points 1 min
- 1 The rule of privity 3 marks 5 min
- 2 Exceptions with examples 7 marks 13 min
- Check: every ask answered, key terms underlined 1 min
Short on time? Trim steps 1 and 2 evenly rather than skip one: each is capped at its own marks.
Try it first. About 20 minutes for 10 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.
The rule. Only a person who is a party to a contract can sue on it; a third party cannot sue on a contract, though the consideration may proceed from a third party. This rule, that a stranger to a contract cannot sue, is the doctrine of privity of contract. If P, indebted to Q, sells his property to R, who promises to pay Q, Q cannot sue R, being a stranger to the contract.
Exceptions in which a stranger to a contract may enforce it:
- Trust: a beneficiary can enforce his right under the trust, though not a party to the contract between settlor and trustee.
- Family settlement: where its terms are reduced to writing, family members who were not parties may enforce it; a mother may enforce her sons' agreement to pay her an allowance on partition.
- Marriage arrangements: a provision for a person's benefit, as a wife's allowance promised by her husband to her father, may be enforced by her.
- Assignment: an assignee of the benefit of a contract, such as a son to whom an insurance policy is assigned, may enforce it, unless the contract depends on the personal skill or ability of a party.
- Acknowledgement or estoppel: where M, given money by L for N, tells N he holds it for him, N may recover it from M.
- Covenant running with the land: a purchaser of land with notice of the covenant is bound by it.
Conclusion. The statement is correct as the general rule of privity of contract, subject to these exceptions.
Where the 10 marks sit
| # | Component | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The rule of privity | 3 |
| 2 | Exceptions with examples | 7 |
| Total | 10 |
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