Williams V Roffey Bros and Nicholls (Contractors) Ltd
Page 1
All England Law Reports/1990/Volume 1 /Williams v Roffey Bros and Nicholls (Contractors) Ltd - [1990] 1 All ER 512 [1990] 1 All ER 512
Williams v Roffey Bros and Nicholls (Contractors) Ltd
COURT OF APPEAL, CIVIL DIVISION PURCHAS, GLIDEWELL AND RUSSELL LJJ
2, 3, 23 NOVEMBER 1989 Contract - Consideration - Performance of contractual duty - Performance of existing contractual duty - Agreement to pay additional money to ensure performance of existing contractual duty - Whether sufficient consideration for payment of additional sum - Whether promise by plaintiff to fulfil existing contractual duty good consideration - Whether defendant obtaining benefit from payment of additional sum - Whether obtaining of benefit amounting to consideration for payment of additional sum - Whether agreement to pay additional sum enforceable. The defendant building contractors entered into a contract to refurbish a block of 27 flats and sub-contracted the carpentry work in the refurbishment to the plaintiff carpenter for a price of £20,000. It was an implied term of the sub-contract that the plaintiff would receive interim payments related to work completed. After completing the carpentry work on the roof and nine flats, and carrying out preliminary work on the remaining flats, for which work he received interim payments of £16,200, the plaintiff found that he was in financial difficulties because the price was too low and he had failed to supervise his workmen properly. Furthermore, he had by then received over 80% of the sub-contract price but still had far more than 20% of the work to complete. The defendants, who were liable under a penalty clause in the main contract if it was not completed on time, were aware of the plaintiff's difficulties and that the sub-contract had been underpriced. They called a meeting with the plaintiff at which they agreed to pay the plaintiff an extra £10,300 at the rate of £575 per flat on completion to ensure that the plaintiff continued with
All England Law Reports/1990/Volume 1 /Williams v Roffey Bros and Nicholls (Contractors) Ltd - [1990] 1 All ER 512 [1990] 1 All ER 512
Williams v Roffey Bros and Nicholls (Contractors) Ltd
COURT OF APPEAL, CIVIL DIVISION PURCHAS, GLIDEWELL AND RUSSELL LJJ
2, 3, 23 NOVEMBER 1989 Contract - Consideration - Performance of contractual duty - Performance of existing contractual duty - Agreement to pay additional money to ensure performance of existing contractual duty - Whether sufficient consideration for payment of additional sum - Whether promise by plaintiff to fulfil existing contractual duty good consideration - Whether defendant obtaining benefit from payment of additional sum - Whether obtaining of benefit amounting to consideration for payment of additional sum - Whether agreement to pay additional sum enforceable. The defendant building contractors entered into a contract to refurbish a block of 27 flats and sub-contracted the carpentry work in the refurbishment to the plaintiff carpenter for a price of £20,000. It was an implied term of the sub-contract that the plaintiff would receive interim payments related to work completed. After completing the carpentry work on the roof and nine flats, and carrying out preliminary work on the remaining flats, for which work he received interim payments of £16,200, the plaintiff found that he was in financial difficulties because the price was too low and he had failed to supervise his workmen properly. Furthermore, he had by then received over 80% of the sub-contract price but still had far more than 20% of the work to complete. The defendants, who were liable under a penalty clause in the main contract if it was not completed on time, were aware of the plaintiff's difficulties and that the sub-contract had been underpriced. They called a meeting with the plaintiff at which they agreed to pay the plaintiff an extra £10,300 at the rate of £575 per flat on completion to ensure that the plaintiff continued with