Bolton v Mahadeva [1972] 2 All ER 1322 is an English contract law

English contract law

English contract law is a body of law regulating contracts in England and Wales. With its roots in the lex mercatoria and the activism of the judiciary during the industrial revolution, it shares a heritage with countries across the Commonwealth , and the United States...

 case, concerning substantial performance of an obligation.

Facts

Mr Walter Charles Bolton installed central heating for £560 in Mr T Mahadeva’s house. It was too cold, the heat came unevenly and it all gave off fumes. Bolton refused to correct it, which would cost £174. Mahadeva refused to pay any money at all. Bolton sued.

The Brentford

Brentford

Brentford is a suburban town in west London, England, and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It is located at the confluence of the River Thames and the River Brent, west-southwest of Charing Cross. Its former ceremonial county was Middlesex.-Toponymy:...

 Deputy County Court judge, Sir Graeme Finlay, held that the contract price needed to be paid, minus a sum for the cost of putting the heating system right (a total of £446, including labour).

Judgment

Sachs LJ held that Bolton was entitled to nothing because there had been no substantial performance at all. At 1015 he said, ‘It is not merely that so very much of the work was shoddy, but it is the general ineffectiveness of it for its primary purpose that leads me to that conclusion.’

Significance

• Law Commission, No.121, ‘Pecuniary Restitution for Breach of Contract’ (1983) para. 2.32, criticised this saying a benefit conferred is one that should be paid for, unless the contract said otherwise. Brian Davenport QC dissented.

• Miles v Wakefield Borough Council [1987] AC 539, Lord Bridge and Lord Brightman reincarnating the doctrine in Cutter v Powell to use against a council registrar who refused to work 3 out of 37 hours, as part of industrial action. They advised the employer that they needed to pay nothing.
• Wiluszynski v London Borough of Tower Hamlets
  Wiluszynski v London Borough of Tower Hamlets
  Wiluszynski v London Borough of Tower Hamlets [1989] ICR 439 is a UK labour law case concerning the contract of employment. It held that if an employment was only partly performed due to a strike, this could be construed as not completing an entire obligation, so that even if an employer has...
  
  [1989] ICR 493, Nicholls LJ holding no "substantial performance" by - and no pay whatsoever for - a council worker on industrial action who did everything but answer enquiries from councillors.

See also

• Jacob & Youngs v. Kent
  Jacob & Youngs v. Kent
  Jacob & Young, Inc. v. Kent, 230 N.Y. 239 is a famous contract law case with the majority opinion by Judge Cardozo. It dealt with the matters of material breach and substantial performance.-Facts:...
  
  , 230 N.Y. 239 (1921) the possible inspiration, and judgment by Cardozo J in New York
• Cutter v Powell
  Cutter v Powell
  Cutter v Powell 101 ER 573 is an English contract law case, concerning substantial performance of a contract.-Facts:Mr T Cutter agreed he would sail with Powell from Kingston, Jamaica to Liverpool, England. The contractual note read as follows....
  
  (1795) 101 ER 573
• Sumpter v Hedges
  Sumpter v Hedges
  Sumpter v Hedges [1898] 1 QB 673 is an English contract law case, concerning substantial performance of a contract and restitution for unjust enrichment.-Facts:...
  
  [1898] 1 QB 673
• Hoenig v Isaacs
  Hoenig v Isaacs
  Hoenig v Isaacs [1952] is an English contract law case, concerning substantial performance of an entire obligation.-Facts:Mr Hoenig was meant to decorate and furnish Mr Isaac’s flat for £750. When the work was done, there were problems with a bookcase and wardrobe, which would cost £55 to fix...
  
  [1952] EWCA Civ 6, 2 All ER 176