Cases - Hampton & Sons v George

Record details

Name

Hampton & Sons v George

Date

[1939]

Citation

3 AII ER 627

Keywords

Estate agency

Summary

The lessee of a hotel was seeking a buyer for his lease. He instructed the plaintiffs as sole agents and thereby terminated the authority of an agent he had previously instructed. The purchaser had previously put in an offer through the previous agents, but this had been rejected. After the sole agency agreement was entered into, the purchaser put the same offer through the previous agents again, and this time the offer was accepted. The plaintiffs claimed commission or, in the alternative, damages. The judge found that the commission for introducing the purchaser would have been £104.

In assessing damages, the judge considered the chances of the plaintiffs finding another buyer, as he considered that they would have difficulty in proving that they were the effective cause of the introduction of the actual buyer if she had been referred to them by the lessee (as he should have done). Matters he took into account included the fact that Hamptons , although experienced and efficient, were not specialists in the licensed trade, and the brewers were not easily satisfied with a prospective buyer. He also considered the possibility that the plaintiffs might have got more out of the actual buyer or another potential buyer, and whether they might have found a buyer within a reasonable time so that the lessee would not have determined their agency.

The plaintiffs were awarded £80, slightly more than three-quarters of the commission.