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England and Wales Court of Appeal (Civil Division) Decisions
You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> England and Wales Court of Appeal (Civil Division) Decisions >> Heathcote Ball & Co (Commercial Auctions) Ltd v Barry [2000] EWCA Civ 235 (27 July 2000)
URL: http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2000/235.html
Cite as: [2000] EWCA Civ 235
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1999/0975/B2
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF JUDICATURE
COURT OF APPEAL (CIVIL DIVISION)
ON APPEAL FROM THE NORTHAMPTON
COUNTY COURT (HIS HONOUR JUDGE
CHARLESHARRIS QC)
Royal Courts of Justice
Strand
London
WC2A 2LL
27 July 2000
LORD JUSTICE PILL
and
SIR MURRAY STUART-SMITH
__________________________
Heathcote ball & Co (Commercial Auctions) Ltd
CLAIMANT/
APPELLANT
Paul Barry
DEFENDANT/
RESPONDENT
(Transcript of the Handed Down Judgment of
Smith Bernal Reporting Limited, 190 Fleet Street
London EC4A 2AG
Tel No: 020 7421 4040, Fax No: 020 7831 8838
Official Shorthand Writers to the Court)
_________________________
Mr V. Moran (instructed by Messrs Woolley & Co, Northampton) appeared on behalf of the Appellant
Mr A. Iles (instructed by Messrs Borneo Linnells, Milton Keynes) appeared on behalf of the Respondent
Judgment
As Approved by the Court
Crown Copyright ©
SIR MURRAY STUART-SMITH:
This is an appeal from a judgment of H H Judge Harris given at Northampton County Court on 6 August 1999 in which he gave judgment for the Claimant for £27,600 against the Defendants. The appeal raises a point of some general interest and importance as to the effect of a sale by auction which is expressed to be "without reserve".
The auction was held on 25 June 1997 at the Defendants' Auction Room in Northampton. Mr Cross was the auctioneer. One of the lots for sale consisted of two Alan Smart engine analysers. They were new machines being sold by Customs and Excise because of some liability that the manufacturers had incurred over VAT payment. The price of new machines from the manufacturers was £14,521 each. Customs and Excise had instructed Mr Cross that the machines were to be sold without reserve and he accepted them for sale on that basis.
The Claimant runs a car tuning business. He saw the machines being delivered to the auction house on 20 June. He returned on the viewing day and spoke to Mr Cross who said that they would be sold at noon on 25 June without reserve. The Claimant decided they would be useful in his business and decided to bid for them.
The Claimant attended the auction house a few minutes before noon. When it came to the lots in question Mr Cross said that the machines were to be `sold that day' on behalf of the VAT office, that each was worth £14,000, `ready to plug in and away you go'. He tried to obtain a bid of £5,000 to start with; there was no bid; he tried £3,000; still no response. He then asked what bids there were for the machines, and the Claimant bid £200 for each. No other bid was made. In fact Mr Cross had received a bid from his son-in-law for £400 each; but he made no mention of this.
Mr Cross then withdrew the machines from the sale. His explanation was: "I could not see how I could sell for as little as this, even though it was without reserve. I think I am justified in not selling at an auction without reserve if I think I could get more in some other way later. I did not take up [the offer of] £400. I thought they were worth more". He told those present that he was not prepared to sell the machines for £200. They were sold a few days later for £1,500 (£750 each) after advertisement in a magazine.
The Claimant claimed damages on the basis that he was the highest bidder. The particulars of the damage claimed was the difference between the value of the machines, said to be £28,000 and the bid of £400.
The judge held that it would be the general and reasonable expectation of persons attending at an auction sale without reserve that the highest bidder would and should be entitled to the lot for which he bids. Such an outcome was in his view fair and logical. As a matter of law he held that there was a collateral contract between the auctioneer and the highest bidder constituted by an offer by the auctioneer to sell to the highest bidder which was accepted when the bid was made. In so doing he followed the views of the majority of the Court of Exchequer Chamber in Warlow v Harrison [1859] 1 E & E 309.
He also held that this was the effect of condition 1 of the conditions of sale which was in these terms:
"The highest bidder to be the purchaser; but should any dispute arise between two or more bidders the same shall be determined by the auctioneers who shall have the right of withdrawing lots."
The judge concluded that the first sentence meant what it said and the right of withdrawal was conditioned on there being a dispute between bidders, and there was none.
Mr Moran on behalf of the Appellant criticises this conclusion on a number of grounds. First he submits that the holding of an auction without reserve does not amount to a promise on the part of the auctioneer to sell the lots to the highest bidder. There are no express words to the effect, merely a statement of fact that the vendor has not placed a reserve on the lot. Such an intention, he submits is inconsistent with two principles of law, namely that the auctioneer's request for bids is not an offer which can be accepted by the highest bidder (Payne v Cave (1789) 3 TR 148) and that there is no completed contract of sale until the auctioneer's hammer falls and the bidder may withdraw his bid up until that time (Sale of Goods Act 1979 S57(2) which reflects the common law). There should be no need to imply such a promise into a statement that the sale is without reserve, because there may be other valid reasons why the auctioneer should be entitled to withdraw the lot, for example if he suspected an illegal ring or that the vendor had no title to sell.
Secondly Mr Moran submits that there is no consideration for the auctioneer's promise. He submits that the bid itself cannot amount to consideration because the bidder has not promised to do anything, he can withdraw the bid until it is accepted and the sale completed by the fall of the hammer. At most the bid represents a discretionary promise, which amounts to illusory consideration, for example promising to do something `if I feel like it'. The bid only had real benefit to the auctioneer at the moment the sale is completed by the fall of the hammer. Furthermore the suggestion that consideration is provided because the auctioneer has the opportunity to accept the bid or to obtain a higher bid as the bidding is driven up depends upon the bid not being withdrawn.
Finally Mr Moran submits that where an agent is acting for a disclosed principal he is not liable on the contract (Bowstead and Reynolds on Agency 16th Ed para 9-001 and Mainprice v Westley (1865) 6 B&S 421). If therefore there is any collateral contract it is with the principal and not the agent.
These submissions were forcefully and attractively argued by Mr Moran. The authorities, such as they were, do not speak with one voice. The starting point is S57 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979, which re-enacted the 1893 Act, itself in this section a codification of the common law. I have already referred to the effect of subsection (2). Subsections (3) and (4) are also important. They provide:
"(3) A sale by auction may be notified to be subject to a reserve or upset price, and a right to bid may also be reserved expressly by or on behalf of the seller.
(4) Where a sale by auction is not notified to be subject to the right to bid by or on behalf of the seller, it is not lawful for the seller to bid himself or to employ any person to bid at the sale, or for the auctioneer knowingly to take any bid from the seller or any such person."
Although the Act does not expressly deal with sales by auction without reserve, the auctioneer is the agent of the vendor and unless subsection (4) has been complied with, it is not lawful for him to make a bid. Yet withdrawing the lot from the sale because it has not reached the level which the auctioneer considers appropriate is tantamount to bidding on behalf of the seller. The highest bid cannot be rejected simply because it is not high enough.
The judge based his decision on the reasoning of the majority of the Court of Exchequer Chamber in Warlow v Harrison. The sale was of `the three following horses, the property of a gentleman, without reserve'. The Plaintiff bid sixty guineas for one of the horses; another person, who was in fact the owner, immediately bid sixty one guineas. The Plaintiff, having been informed that the bid was from the owner declined to bid higher, and claimed he was entitled to the horse. He sued the auctioneer; he based his claim on a plea that the auctioneer was his agent to complete the contract on his behalf. On that plea the Plaintiff succeeded at first instance; but the verdict was set aside in the Court of Queen's Bench. The Plaintiff appealed. Although the Court of Exchequer Chamber upheld the decision on the case as pleaded, all five members of the Court held that if the pleadings were appropriately amended, the Plaintiff would be entitled to succeed on a retrial. Martin B gave the judgment of the majority consisting of Byles and Watson BB. At p 316 he said this:
"Upon the facts of the case, it seems to us that the plaintiff is entitled to recover. In a sale by auction there are three parties, viz. the owner of the property to be sold, the auctioneer, and the portion of the public who attend to bid, which of course includes the highest bidder. In this, as in most cases of sales by auction, the owner's name was not disclosed: he was a concealed principal. The name of the auctioneers, of whom the defendant was one, alone was published; and the sale was announced by them to be `without reserve.' This, according to all the cases both at law and equity, means that neither the vendor nor any person in his behalf shall bid at the auction, and that the property shall be sold to the highest bidder, whether the sum bid be equivalent to the real value or not; Thornett v. Haines (a). We cannot distinguish the case of an auctioneer putting up property for sale upon such a condition from the case of the loser of property offering a reward, or that of a railway company publishing a time table stating the times when, and the places to which, the trains run. It has been decided that the person giving the information advertised for, or a passenger taking a ticket, may sue as upon a contract with him; Denton v. Great Northern Railway Company (b). Upon the same principle, it seems to us that the highest bonâ fide bidder at an auction may sue the auctioneer as upon a contract that the sale shall be without reserve. We think the auctioneer who puts the property up for sale upon such a condition pledges himself that the sale shall be without reserve; or, in other words, contracts that it shall be so; and that this contract is made with the highest bonâ fide bidder; and, in case of breach of it, that he has a right of action against the auctioneer."
And at p 317 he said:
"We entertain no doubt that the owner may, at any time before the contract is legally complete, interfere and revoke the auctioneer's authority: but he does so at his peril; and, if the auctioneer has contracted any liability in consequence of his employment and the subsequent revocation or conduct of the owner, he is entitled to be indemnified."
The two other members of the Court, Willes J and Bramwell B reached the same conclusion, but based their decision on breach of warranty of authority.
Although therefore the decision of the majority is not strictly binding, it was the reasoned judgment of the majority and is entitled to very great respect. In Mainprice v Westley (1865) 6B of S, 421, the Court distinguished Warlow v Harrison on the basis that in Mainprice's case the principal was disclosed, whereas in Warlow's case he was not. The judgment of the Court consisting of Cockburn CJ, Blackburn and Shee JJ was given by Blackburn J. On this basis it was held that the agent was not liable. With all respect to the Court, it does not seem to me that this was the basis of the decision in Warlow's case; rather that there was a separate collateral contract with the auctioneer; there is no reason why such a contract should not exist, even if the principal is disclosed. It is indeed the basis of an action for breach of warranty of authority. Moreover it was in fact clear in Warlow's case that the auctioneer was selling as an agent.
In Harris v Nickerson [1873] LR 8 QB 286 CA the Defendant an auctioneer, advertised a sale by auction of certain lots including office furniture on a certain day and the two following days. But the sale of furniture on the third day was withdrawn. The Plaintiff attended the sale and claimed against the Defendant for breach of contract in not holding the sale, seeking to recover his expenses in attending. The claim was rejected by the Court of Queen's Bench. In the course of his judgment Blackburn J said at p 288:
"In the case of Warlow v. Harrison (1), the opinion of the majority of the judges in the Exchequer Chamber appears to have been that an action would lie for not knocking down the lot to the highest bonâ fide bidder when the sale was advertised as without reserve; in such a case it may be that there is a contract to sell to the highest bidder, and that if the owner bids there is a breach of contract."
And at p 289 Quain J said:
"When a sale is advertised as without reserve, and a lot is put up and bid for, there is ground for saying, as was said in Warlow v. Harrison (1), that a contract is entered into between the auctioneer and the highest bonâ fide bidder."
In Johnston v Boyes [1899] 2 Ch 73 Cozens-Hardy J also accepted the majority view in Warlow's case as being good law. (See p 77).
The only other case to when I need refer is Fenwick v MacDonald Fraser and Co [1904] 6F (Ct of Sess) 850. The sale was not without reserve because the condition of sale reserved to the owner the right to make one offer for each animal. The Lord Ordinary Lord Kyllachy appears to have decided the case both on the grounds that there was a disclosed principal, following Mainprice's case, and also that it was not a sale without reserve. In the Court of Session the Lord Justice - Clerk agreed with the Lord Ordinary. Lord Young held that because the purchaser could withdraw his bid until the hammer fell, so could the seller. He also considered that the sale was not `without reserve'. Lord Traynor considered that the law of Scotland had been changed by the Sale of Goods Act 1893 which enabled a bid to be withdrawn until the hammer had fallen. Prior to that date the highest bid had to be accepted. The case however is not satisfactory, since there is no reference in any of the judgments to Warlow v Harrison or the analysis of the reasoning of the majority in that case. Moreover it is quite clear, as it seems to me, that it was not a sale without reserve.
So far as text-book writers are concerned both Chitty (28th Edition para 2-010) and Benjamin of Sale of Goods (5th Ed para 2-005) adopt the view expressed by the majority of the Court in Warlow's case.
As to consideration, in my judgment there is consideration both in the form of detriment to the bidder, since his bid can be accepted unless and until it is withdrawn, and benefit to the auctioneer as the bidding is driven up. Moreover attendance at the sale is likely to be increased if it is known that there is no reserve.
As to the agency point, there is no doubt that when the sale is concluded, the contract is between the purchaser and vendor and not the auctioneer. Even if the identity of the vendor is not disclosed, it is clear that the auctioneer is selling as agent. It is true that there was no such contract between vendor and purchaser. But that does not prevent a collateral agreement existing between the auctioneer and bidder. A common example of this is an action for breach of warranty of authority, which arises on a collateral contract.
For these reasons I would uphold the judge's decision on liability.
Mr Moran submits that the judge was in error in awarding the Claimant £27,600. He submits that he should have awarded no more than £1,600. He described it as a pleading point, and I confess I have found it not altogether easy to follow. The argument appears to be this: the judge's assessment was based on the replacement cost of the machines, yet that was not the way the Claimant's case was presented, at least until final submissions. The pleading was `the Plaintiff claims the value of the machines, in the sum of £14,000 each, less the bid price of £200 and the costs of the auction £82. Sum claimed £27,518.' Mr Moran submitted that he had come to meet a case based on the difference in value and not the cost of replacement. In the course of the hearing Mr Moran objected to the Claimant giving any evidence that he had replaced the machines and this objection was upheld. He is therefor aggrieved that the judge appears to have assessed quantum on the basis of the cost of a new machine. Rather he submits it should have been the price at which they were eventually sold or £1,000 each which was what the Claimant himself said he was prepared to bid for them.
The judge expressed the matter in the way at p 7 line 32:
"The Plaintiff is entitled to be put in the position in which he would have been if the contract had not been broken, that is, he would have had two newly manufactured engine tuning machines. There is no doubt that on the only evidence there is these would have cost over £14,000 each to buy in the ordinary way. There was no evidence that such machines could be bought anywhere else by the Plaintiff for less, only that in fact these two were sold elsewhere for a total of £1,500, which fact the Defendants were not prepared at the time to tell the Plaintiff. It was not suggested that the Plaintiff could or should have bought them himself via the magazine advertisement for this sum.
The Plaintiff of course has to prove his loss. He says that he lost these two new machines. Clearly he did. The Defendant's contention is that the value of these machines, i.e. the measure of the Plaintiff's loss, was only £1,500, but that sum would not put the Plaintiff into possession or into a position to obtain possession of two brand new £14,000 tuning machines. If the position had been that the Plaintiff was simply a trader only concerned with the sale value of machinery which he was not going to use, then there is a logic in the Defendant's contention. He would simply have lost a saleable item with a value, on the evidence, of £1,500 at most. But the Plaintiff wanted to use these new machines in his business and not trade them, and on the evidence there was, namely that the manufacturer sold such new machines at £14,521, and the auctioneer's assertion that they were worth £14,000 each, and there being no evidence that comparable machines could be got elsewhere for less, I find that the measure of the Plaintiff's loss is indeed £28,000, less the £400 of his bid, namely £27,600."
In my opinion the judge was entitled to approach the matter in the way he did. Where a seller wrongfully refuses to deliver goods to the buyer, the measure of damages where there is a market in the goods is prima facie to be ascertained by the difference between the contract price and the market or current price of the goods at the time when they ought to have been delivered. (Sale of Goods Act 1979 S51(3)). Although this is not an action against the vendor, it seems to me that the same measure of damages applies. It is not necessary that the purchaser actually goes into the market and replaces the goods.
There was in fact evidence that the only market was to purchase from the manufacturer and there was also the evidence of Mr Cross himself in his witness statement that the machines are worth £14,000 each; this was supported by the manufacturer's invoice. We do not in fact know whether the Claimant purchased replacement machines and if so at what price, because Mr Moran objected to the evidence being given, no doubt because he thought that the judge might accept his argument based on the actual price at which they were subsequently sold. If the Claimant had in fact replaced the machines at the manufacturer's list price (the only market), then that would be the recoverable damages, less of course the £400 bid. But of that there is no evidence. In my view the judge was entitled to accept that on the evidence the value was £14,000 each. I would therefor dismiss the appeal.
PILL LJ:
I agree that the auctioneer was under an obligation to sell to the highest bidder, for the reasons given by Sir Murray Stuart-Smith.
I also agree that the judge was entitled on the evidence to award damages of £27,600 for breach of that obligation. The use of the word "value" in the claimant's pleading was in my view a sufficient indication that the claimant intended to rely on the rule provided by section 51(3) of the Sale of Goods Act 1979. The judge was on the evidence entitled to hold that the manufacturer's list price of £14,000 was the relevant market price of each machine.
The claimant was perhaps fortunate in that respect. In most cases involving the sale of second-hand equipment, there will be evidence of second-hand prices which would disentitle the judge from adopting the figure from the manufacturer's list. In this case, the auctioneer's counsel objected to such evidence being given in the hope that the judge would assess damages on the basis of the sum of £750 each for which the machines were actually sold subsequent to the auction. In my view the judge was not bound to find that the sale price of those particular machines was the market price. His finding is justified on the special facts of the case. The finding does not support a principle that the manufacturer's list price is normally the market price of second-hand goods.
Order: Appeal dismissed with costs; detailed assessment.
(Order does not form part of approved judgment.)