PAGE 2-HONGKONG DAILY PRESS,
FRIDAY, DEcember 16, 1938.
of Appeal upheld him on this and as to the cocoa" dealings." Fraud "on the further ground that each lent concealment has been nega-nothing to differentiate this agree- ground of defence must fail. I see of the appellants owed a duty to tlved by the jury; this claim is ment from the ordinary contract the company to disclose his based upon the contention that of service; and I am aware of no breaches of duty and that theft Bell owed a duty to Levers to dis-authority which places contracts. of non-disclosure invalidated the com-close his misconduct, and that in service within, the limited category pensation agreements.
default of disclosure the contract I have mentioned."
"The House of Lords by £ was voldable. Ordinarily the majority of three to two held that failure to disclose à material fact subtalssions as to the peculiar na- Here, despite Mr. Macnamara's the agreements were valid; as to which might influence the mind of ture of contracts connected with mutual mistake, because the mistake a prudent contractor does not give copyright and performing right, I related not to the subject matter the right to avoid the contract. can see no unusual features in the but to the quality of the service The principle of caveat emptor ap- contracts, and as to unilateral plies outside contracts of sale mistake, because the appellants There are certain contracts ex- "We do not know all its terms,
contract involved.
under their contracts of service pressed by the law to be contracts but it appears to have been mere- with the company owed no duty to of the utmost good faith, wherely an agreement by the parties it to disclose the impugned prac-material facts must be disclosed; that the appellant should exhibit
tices.
EXCERPT FROM REPORT
not, the contract is voidable. the respondents' him on certain Apart from special, fiduciary re-terms. I cannot see how it can be lationships, contracts for partner-argued that such a contract falls "The following excerpt from the ship and contracts of insurance are within the limited category of speech of Lord Atkin at pp. 227 the leading instances. In such those "uberrimae fidel" in which and 228 of the Report is to my cases the duty does not arise out of the law requires the disclosure of mind excedingly material here:-contract; the duty of a person pro- every material fact within the "It now becomes necessary to deal posing an insurance arises before knowledge of one contracting party with the second point of the plain- a contract is made, so of an intend- which may influence the conduct tiffs namely, that the contract of ing partner. Unless this contract of the other. March 19, 1929, could be avoided by can be brought within this limited them in consequerice of the non-category of contracts uberrimae this appeal cannot succeed." disclosure by Bell of his misconduct Adel it appears to me that this
"For these reasons I held that
Mr. Justice Williams: "I agree."
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