|
''Ashington Piggeries Ltd v Christopher Hill Ltd.'' (1972; AC 441) is a UK commercial law case concerning legal liability for the damages resulting from the loss of a large number of mink given toxic feed. The heart of the case revolved around the definition of ingredients in the contract (in accordance with section 13 of the Sale of Goods Act of 1893) and the expectations of quality of those ingredients (under 14(1) and 14(2)). In 1960, Ashington Piggeries Ltd. supplied the recipe which Christopher Hill Ltd. fulfilled, using in part ingredients it acquired from a Norwegian company, Sildemelutvalget (who had been replaced by Norsildmel by the time of trial). Many of the animals who consumed the food died from liver disease resulting from improper processing of the herring meal in the feed. Ashington Piggeries was sued by Christopher Hill for refusing to pay for the feed and countersued that Christopher Hill failed to fulfill its contractual obligations by providing poor quality ingredients that did not meet the contract's requirements. Christopher Hill in turn sued Norsildmel for failing to fulfill its contractual obligations for the same reason. The House of Lords heard the case in February 1971, holding that while quality issues or contamination did not made an ingredient different in definition, there was a reasonable expectation of quality where ingredient suppliers knew the purpose of the ingredient and had reason to know the risks. ==Facts== Ashington Piggeries devised a recipe for mink feed, contracting in 1960 with Christopher Hill to supply ingredients and compound them. The food was marketed under the name "King Size". At first, there were no problems, but in February 1961 Christopher Hill entered into a contract with Norwegian company Sildemelutvalget to supply Norwegian herring meal rather than the herring meal previously used. In July 1961, mink fed "King Size" began to die in large numbers of liver disease. Unbeknownst to the parties, the sodium nitrite preservative used in the Norwegian herring meal produced a substance, dimethylnitrosamine (DMNA), toxic to many animals, highly so to mink. None of the parties were aware that DMNA (the potential dangers of which were known, although lethal dosages were not) was present in the meal. When Ashington Piggeries withheld payment for the feed, Christopher Hill sued, and Ashtington Piggeries counterclaimed for damages which they claimed were caused by violation of contract. According to them, Christopher Hill had supplied an ingredient not sanctioned by contract: herring meal plus DMNA. The defendants in turn sued Norsildmel (into which Sildemelutvalget had evolved) under the claim that the words "fair average quality of the season" included in the contract for the herring meal were part of the identification of the ingredient, which the herring meal in question did not meet. The claims was based on the Sale of Goods Act of 1893, specifically with references to sections 13, 14(1) and 14(2). Section 13 requires that goods sold match the description of any contract of sale. Section 14(1) and 14(2) concern the quality of the goods and the degree to which the buyer purchases the expertise of the seller in determining that quality. In 1968, the trial court found for Ashington Piggeries against Christopher Hill and for Christopher Hill against Norsildmel. The Court of Appeal in 1969 reversed the decision, and the matter was subsequently brought before the House of Lords in 1971. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ashington Piggeries Ltd v Christopher Hill Ltd」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|