A contract for the sale of land must incorporate all agreed terms, warns James Naylor
The recent case of Francis v F Berndes Ltd & Ors [2011] EWHC 3377 (Ch), [2012] All ER (D) 05 (Jan), provides a convenient reminder that a contract for the sale of land must incorporate all the terms that the parties have agreed upon and anything short of that benchmark will result in the failure of the agreement.
Facts
In Francis, a telephone offer was made to purchase a property for £50,000; such offer being subsequently orally accepted. An express oral agreement was thus achieved. There followed a letter that read, in part, as follows: “Following [the above] discussions…, I can confirm that we are prepared to sell the freehold of the Coolbury Club, workshop and flat for a purchase consideration of £50,000.”
However, the vendor subsequently declined to sell, occasioning the commencement of litigation between the parties. This was met by an application for summary judgment to dismiss the claim, on the basis that the letter
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