Description
Following an auction a memorandum of sale was entered into with the registered leasehold proprietor of the property. A third party then alleged that he owned the property. Following the issue of proceedings the parties agreed that the claim against the registered leasehold proprietor and the claim against the auction house for breach of warranty of authority should succeed. In assessing damages the parties agreed that the date of valuation should be postponed for as long as the prospective purchasers had been acting reasonably in trying to have the contract completed. The court determined that damages for breach of warranty of authority were intended to put the prospective purchaser in the same position as if the warranty had been accurate and the sale had been authorised. The appropriate measure was the value of the property less the agreed price. It was just to value the property at the date of the trial.
