Chandelor v Lopus

Chandelor v Lopus
Court	Court of Exchequer
Citation(s)	(1603) 79 Eng Rep 3; Cro Jac 4
Keywords
Caveat emptor

Chandelor v Lopus (1603) 79 ER 3 is a famous case in the common law of England. It stands for the distinction between warranties and mere affirmations and announced the rule of caveat emptor (buyer beware).

Facts

A man paid £100 for what he thought was a bezoar stone. This is a stone that forms in animals' intestinal systems, and was believed to have magical healing properties. The seller said he thought it was a bezoar stone, but he also made clear that he could not be totally certain that it was. The buyer sued for the return of the £100 purchase price.

How the claimant discovered that the bezoar did not work is not discussed in the report.

Judgment

The Exchequer Court held the buyer had no right to his money back, saying "the bare affirmation that it was a bezoar stone, without warranting it to be so, is no cause of action."

Signficance

Though scepticism over the alleged magical powers of bezoars may well have been justified, Chandelor long stood as an impediment to any common law development of consumer protection remedies. Only in the nineteenth century did the law begin to evolve a doctrine of implied warranty.

See also

• Cross v Gardner (1689) Cart. 90, Lord Holt CJ held that ‘An affirmation at the time of a sale is a warranty, provided it appears on evidence to be so intended.’
• Heilbut, Symons & Co v Buckleton [1913] AC 30
• Oscar Chess Ltd v Williams [1957] 1 WLR 370

Notes