Overview

In the recent case of Rooney v CSE Bournemouth [2010] EWCA Civ 1285, the defendant (CSE) sought to rely on its standard terms and conditions which, it argued, had been incorporated by reference into a contract because the words “terms and conditions available on request” were written at the bottom of a work order form, which the claimant (Rooney) had signed. The Court of Appeal held that these words were, in principle, capable of being understood as an intention to incorporate a party’s standard terms and conditions into a contract.

Macfarlanes looks at the implications of this case, as it provides an interesting example of the court incorporating terms into a contract in the absence of an express statement that the terms formed part of the contract or an explanation of what the terms said. Therefore a buyer of goods or services may unwittingly be bound by terms which it has never intentionally agreed to and may never have read.

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