What did Pilkington v Wood (1953) decide about the extent of the duty to mitigate?

It decided that the injured party need not take unreasonable steps, so a purchaser given defective advice on title was not required to bring uncertain and expensive litigation against the vendor to reduce his loss.

Who bears the burden of proving a failure to mitigate?

The defendant must prove that the claimant acted unreasonably, because the claimant is not required to justify every choice made in the difficult position the breach created.

Does the duty to mitigate arise before an anticipatory breach has been accepted?

No, the innocent party is entitled to wait and keep the contract alive, so the duty to mitigate arises only once the repudiation has been accepted and the contract brought to an end.

WJEC A-Level Law 603-1978-1

Law Making in Wales and the UK

Topic overview Legal rules, sources of law and the rule of law Parliamentary sovereignty, the separation of powers and the Royal Prerogative The composition and role of Parliament The legislative process at Westminster The Senedd and law making in Wales The devolution settlement and the role of the Supreme Court Influences on law making and law reform

Delegated Legislation

Topic overview The nature and authority of delegated legislation Statutory instruments By-laws and Orders in Council Delegated legislation in Wales and the devolution settlement Parliamentary controls on delegated legislation Control by the courts and judicial review Reasons for delegated legislation and its advantages and disadvantages

Statutory Interpretation

Topic overview The need for statutory interpretation The literal rule The golden rule The mischief rule The purposive approach and European influence Rules of language, presumptions and intrinsic aids Extrinsic aids, the Human Rights Act 1998 and evaluating the approaches

Judicial Precedent

Topic overview The doctrine of precedent and stare decisis Ratio decidendi and obiter dicta Binding and persuasive precedent The hierarchy of the courts in England and Wales The Supreme Court and the Practice Statement Overruling, reversing and distinguishing Advantages and disadvantages of precedent

The Civil Courts and Dispute Resolution

Topic overview Civil liability, civil claims and the civil process The structure and jurisdiction of the civil courts Appeals in civil cases Juries in civil cases Tribunals Arbitration Mediation, conciliation and negotiation

The Criminal Process and the Criminal Courts

Topic overview Classification of offences and the criminal process The magistrates' courts and the Crown Court Appeals in criminal cases The jury at trial: verdicts, secrecy and the coroner's jury Criticisms of and alternatives to the jury system The aims and theories of sentencing Sentencing powers and the sentencing of youths

Legal Personnel and the Judiciary

Topic overview Barristers: training, role and rights of audience Solicitors: training, role and work Legal executives and paralegals Regulation of the legal professions and the fusion debate The judiciary: hierarchy, role and selection Judicial independence, the rule of law and the constitutional position Lay magistrates and district judges

Access to Justice and Funding

Topic overview Access to justice and the development of legal aid Civil legal aid: scope and services Means testing, merits testing and the statutory charge Criminal legal aid and the Public Defender Service Conditional fee agreements and private funding Advice agencies and other sources of help Evaluating access to justice after the 2012 reforms

Tort: Rules and Theory

Topic overview The nature and origins of the law of tort Categories of tort and the interests protected Fault and strict liability Corrective justice and the economic justification Retributive and distributive justice in tort Theories of justice and the balancing of interests Criticisms of the tort system Reform and alternatives to tort

Tort: Negligence

Topic overview Duty of care and the neighbour principle The Caparo test and the modern approach Breach of duty and the reasonable man Factors affecting the standard of care Causation in fact and in law Remoteness of damage and the thin skull rule Psychiatric injury: primary and secondary victims

Tort: Occupiers' Liability

Topic overview Occupiers, premises and visitors The common duty of care under the 1957 Act Child visitors Skilled visitors, contractors and warnings Liability to trespassers under the 1984 Act Comparing the two Acts Evaluating occupiers' liability

Tort: Remedies

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Human Rights: Rules and TheoryHuman rights

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Human Rights: Key Convention ProvisionsHuman rights

Topic overview Article 8 and the scope of private and family life, home and correspondence Negative and positive obligations under Article 8 Article 8(2) and the justification of an interference Article 10 and the right to freedom of expression Article 11 and freedom of peaceful assembly and association Balancing Article 8 against Article 10 Evaluating the qualified rights and their exceptions

Human Rights: RestrictionsHuman rights

Topic overview Public order offences and the control of protest Police powers of stop, search and entry Arrest, detention and the rights of a person in police custody Trespass, harassment and actions against the police Interception of communications and access to personal information Confidentiality, defamation and the protection of reputation Obscenity and the arguments for and against restriction

Human Rights: EnforcementHuman rights

Topic overview The domestic courts and the Strasbourg case law Compatible interpretation and declarations of incompatibility Public authorities, victims and remedies under sections 6 to 8 The judicial review procedure The grounds for judicial review The European Court of Human Rights Evaluating the enforcement of human rights

Human Rights: Protection and ReformHuman rights

Topic overview How rights are protected in the United Kingdom today The Equality and Human Rights Commission Criticisms of the Human Rights Act 1998 and the case for change Defending the Human Rights Act 1998 as it stands The case for a United Kingdom Bill of Rights The case against a United Kingdom Bill of Rights Reform, devolution and the United Kingdom's place in the Convention system

Contract: Rules and TheoryContract

Topic overview Origins, definition and function of contract law Freedom of contract and the classical theory of bargain Contract law and economic development Freedom of contract and consumer protection Judicial decisions, legislation and European influence on contract Human rights, morality and justice in the law of contract Arguments for a European or global law of contract

Contract: FormationContract

Topic overview Offer and invitation to treat Acceptance, counter-offers and the ending of an offer Consideration and existing duties Payment of less than the debt, and promissory estoppel Intention to create legal relations Privity of contract and the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 Evaluating the rules of agreement and consideration

Contract: TermsContract

Topic overview Representations and terms Express terms, incorporation and the parol evidence rule Implied terms Conditions, warranties and innominate terms Exclusion clauses and their construction Statutory control of exclusion and unfair terms Evaluating the law on contract terms

Contract: Misrepresentation and DuressContract

Topic overview Actionable misrepresentation and the elements of a claim Fraudulent misrepresentation Negligent misrepresentation and the Misrepresentation Act 1967 Innocent misrepresentation, rescission and its bars Economic duress Duress to the person and undue influence distinguished Evaluating misrepresentation and duress

Contract: DischargeContract

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Contract: RemediesContract

Topic overview The aim of damages and the measure of loss Causation and remoteness of damage Mitigation, agreed damages and penalties Rescission and rectification Specific performance Injunctions and the limits of equitable relief Evaluating the law of contractual remedies

Criminal Law: Rules and TheoryCriminal

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Criminal Law: General Elements of LiabilityCriminal

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Criminal Law: Offences Against the PersonCriminal

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Criminal Law: Property OffencesCriminal

Topic overview Theft: appropriation and property Theft: belonging to another Theft: dishonesty and intention permanently to deprive Robbery under section 8 of the Theft Act 1968 Burglary: entry, trespass and buildings Burglary under sections 9(1)(a) and 9(1)(b), and aggravated burglary Evaluating the law on theft, robbery and burglary

Criminal Law: DefencesCriminal

Topic overview Insanity and the M'Naghten Rules Automatism: insane and non-insane Intoxication by alcohol and by drugs Self-defence and the prevention of crime Duress by threats Duress of circumstances and necessity Evaluating the capacity and necessity defences

Criminal Law: Preliminary OffencesCriminal

Topic overview Attempt: the statutory definition and its scope The actus reus: acts more than merely preparatory Applying the more than merely preparatory test to the cases The mens rea of attempt Attempting the impossible Attempt, the completed offence and abandonment Evaluating the law on attempts and proposals for reform

Contract: Remedies

Mitigation, agreed damages and penalties

3 things to know
A2 Units 3 and 4

Overview

Duty to mitigate, liquidated damages clause and penalty clause.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Key term

What is the duty to mitigate?

Key term

What did British Westinghouse v Underground Electric Railways (1912) decide about the benefits of mitigation?

Key term

When can a defendant rely on the claimant's own carelessness to reduce contractual damages?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
What is the duty to mitigate?
Model answer
The injured party must take reasonable steps to reduce the loss flowing from the breach, and cannot recover for any part of the loss that reasonable steps would have avoided.
2
What did British Westinghouse v Underground Electric Railways (1912) decide about the benefits of mitigation?
Model answer
The replacement turbines were so much more efficient than those contracted for that the buyer was better off, and the savings had to be brought into account, reducing the damages for the defective machines.
3
What did Pilkington v Wood (1953) decide about the extent of the duty to mitigate?
Model answer
It decided that the injured party need not take unreasonable steps, so a purchaser given defective advice on title was not required to bring uncertain and expensive litigation against the vendor to reduce his loss.
4
Who bears the burden of proving a failure to mitigate?
Model answer
The defendant must prove that the claimant acted unreasonably, because the claimant is not required to justify every choice made in the difficult position the breach created.
5
Does the duty to mitigate arise before an anticipatory breach has been accepted?
Model answer
No, the innocent party is entitled to wait and keep the contract alive, so the duty to mitigate arises only once the repudiation has been accepted and the contract brought to an end.
6
When can a defendant rely on the claimant's own carelessness to reduce contractual damages?
Model answer
Apportionment for contributory negligence is available only where the defendant's liability in contract is the same as, and concurrent with, a liability in the tort of negligence, and not where the contractual duty is strict.

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Law Making in Wales and the UK

Delegated Legislation

Statutory Interpretation

Judicial Precedent

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Roles v Nathan ( ).

196319411945

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AThe defendant owed the victim a duty of care and breached it.

BThe breach carried a reasonably foreseeable risk of death.

CThe breach caused the death.

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