| Bolton v Mahadeva | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Court | Court of Appeal |
| Decided | 13 April 1972 |
| Citation | [1972] EWCA Civ 5, [1972] 1 WLR 1009, [1972] 2 All ER 1322 |
| Court membership | |
| Judges sitting | Sachs LJ, Buckley LJ and Cairns LJ |
Bolton v Mahadeva [1972] EWCA Civ 5 is an English contract law case concerning substantial performance of an obligation.
Mr Walter Charles Bolton installed central heating for £560 in Mr T Mahadeva’s house. It was too cold, the heat came unevenly and it all gave off fumes. Bolton refused to correct it, which would cost £174. Mahadeva refused to pay any money at all. Bolton sued.
The Brentford Deputy County Court judge, Sir Graeme Finlay, held that the contract price needed to be paid, minus a sum for the cost of putting the heating system right (a total of £446, including labour).
Sachs LJ held that Bolton was entitled to nothing because there had been no substantial performance at all. At 1015 he said, ‘It is not merely that so very much of the work was shoddy, but it is the general ineffectiveness of it for its primary purpose that leads me to that conclusion.’
Breach of contract is a legal cause of action and a type of civil wrong, in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other party's performance. Breach occurs when a party to a contract fails to fulfill its obligation(s), whether partially or wholly, as described in the contract, or communicates an intent to fail the obligation or otherwise appears not to be able to perform its obligation under the contract. Where there is breach of contract, the resulting damages have to be paid to the aggrieved party by the party breaching the contract.
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