Summary

On the evidence the claimant failed to prove that an oral representation alleged to have been made by the defendant had been incorporated into a contract between them.

Facts

The claimant company (N) sought damages from the defendant company (P) for misrepresentation or breach of contract. N was a leading provider of banqueting and corporate hospitality services for sport related events. P was a company operated by the Professional Cricketers Association, which was the representative body of first class cricketers in England and Wales. Following a meeting between the parties in 2003, it was agreed that N would sponsor a London cricket team during a cricket tournament. N contended that the contract had included a term, by reason of an oral representation by P made during the 2003 meeting, that P would within one year offer a date for N to host an official dinner at the Cafe Royal at which P guaranteed the attendance of the English cricket team. N submitted that that representation had become a term of the contract and that it had been breached by P, as no such dinner had been arranged.

Held

On the evidence, N had failed to prove that P had made a contractual commitment to arrange the dinner. The giving of such a guaranteed commitment on P's part would have been foolish, given the logistical difficulties of arranging such an event. Where a case turned on a finding over what had been said during a single meeting that had taken place a long time ago, those findings would be tested by reference to what the parties had done or written after the meeting. In the instant case subsequent events supported the finding that P had made no representation concerning the dinner that was to have been incorporated into the contract.

Judgment for defendant