Re Wait
A buyer of an unascertained part of a larger bulk acquires no property in the goods, legal or equitable, until they are ascertained.
Facts
Mr Wait bought 1,000 tons of wheat, which was to be shipped on a particular ship. He then sold 500 tons of it to a sub buyer, who paid for it. Before the 500 tons had been separated from the bulk, Mr Wait became bankrupt. The sub buyer claimed that he had an equitable interest in 500 tons of the wheat, so that it did not form part of Mr Wait's estate.
Legal principle
The Court of Appeal held, by a majority, that the sub buyer had no property in the wheat, legal or equitable, and was only an unsecured creditor. Atkin LJ said that the Sale of Goods Act 1893 was a complete code, and that, under section 16, no property in goods is transferred to the buyer unless and until the goods are ascertained. Equity would not create an interest in the goods that the Act did not recognise. The position of buyers of goods forming part of an identified bulk was later changed by section 20A of the Sale of Goods Act 1979, added in 1995, which allows them to become owners in common of the bulk.
Related cases on passing of property and risk
- Carlos Federspiel & Co SA v Charles Twigg & Co Ltd [1957] 1 Lloyd's Rep 240
- Demby Hamilton & Co Ltd v Barden [1949] 1 All ER 435
- Dennant v Skinner and Collom [1948] 2 KB 164
- Re Goldcorp Exchange Ltd [1995] 1 AC 74
- Healy v Howlett & Sons [1917] 1 KB 337
- Karlshamns Oljefabriker v Eastport Navigation Corp (The Elafonissos) [1982] 1 All ER 208
- Kirkham v Attenborough [1897] 1 QB 201
- Kursell v Timber Operators and Contractors Ltd [1927] 1 KB 298
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