The Law of Contract Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Law of Contract - Essay Example On boarding the train, Maggie slipped on the carriage’s floor and injured her ankle and damaged her new coat. She lost her balance because the English Rail staff had failed to clean tea spilled previously on the carriage floor. The objective of exemption clauses is to exclude the liability of one of the parties. However, the Unfair Contract Terms Act, states that no contractual exclusion term can either limit or preclude liability, in cases involving negligence that resulted in injury or death of an individual. Moreover, in instances entailing a term of notice that is unreasonable; liability for negligence cannot be mitigated or excluded. The redoubtable Lord Denning, in Spurling v Bradshaw, opined that certain exclusion clauses were to be printed conspicuously and in red ink on the relevant document. Therefore, considerable importance is attached to exemption clauses by the courts. No such prominent notice was given to Maggie, and the reverse of the ticket contained a direction to view the website of English Rail, for information regarding its rules. As such, the exclusion clause was not incorporated into the contract, prior to the completion of the contract. Hence it is invalid. In Thornton v Shoe Lane Parking, the court rejected the exclusion clause and ruled that printing the exclusion clause on the reverse of the ticket constituted insufficient notice to customers. Due to the gross negligence of English Rail’s staff, Maggie sustained the injury to her ankle and her new coat was damaged.