Smith v. Eric S. Bush

"Smith v. Eric S. Bush" is an English contract law case, heard by the House of Lords.

The defendants were surveyors for a mortgagee. They performed a survey of the house, declaring it to need no significant repair. Relying on this, the house was conveyed to a purchaser. The chimney stack in the house subsequently fell down, and the purchaser sued for the negligent statement. It was held that even though the defendants had issued a liability waiver, this could not stand up to the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977's test of reasonableness. More importantly, however, the court held that it was not unreasonable for the purchaser of a modest house to rely on the surveyors' evaluation, as it was such common practice. In this way the court extended Hedley Byrne liability to proximate third parties. []

References

External links

* [http://www.myworkman.co.uk/articles/chimney_breast_removal.php Article about chimney breast removal]