Assurity Private Ltd v Truck Sales Ltd 1960 (2) SA 686 (SR)

Assurity Private Ltd v Truck Sales Ltd 1960 (2) SA 686 (SR)

Issue: Whether a person who has made a part payment on a contract is entitled to recover the part payment if the other person subsequently breaches the contract.

Facts:

Assurity Private Ltd (Assurity) entered into a contract with Truck Sales Ltd (Truck Sales) to purchase a truck from Truck Sales. The contract provided that Assurity would pay Truck Sales a deposit and then pay the balance of the price in installments.

Assurity paid Truck Sales a deposit. However, before Truck Sales had delivered the truck to Assurity, Truck Sales sold the truck to another person.

Assurity then sued Truck Sales for the return of the deposit. Truck Sales argued that Assurity was not entitled to recover the deposit because Assurity had breached the contract by failing to pay the balance of the price.

Held:

The Southern Rhodesia High Court held that Assurity was entitled to recover the deposit from Truck Sales. The Court reasoned that Truck Sales had breached the contract by failing to deliver the truck to Assurity and that Assurity was therefore entitled to recover the part payment it had made on the contract.

Key Facts:

• A company entered into a contract to purchase a truck from another company.
• The contract provided that the company would pay a deposit and then pay the balance of the price in installments.
• The company paid the deposit. However, before the other company had delivered the truck to the company, the other company sold the truck to another person.
• The company then sued the other company for the return of the deposit.
• The other company argued that the company was not entitled to recover the deposit because the company had breached the contract by failing to pay the balance of the price.

Reasons:

The Court held that the company was entitled to recover the deposit from the other company because the other company had breached the contract by failing to deliver the truck to the company and that the company was therefore entitled to recover the part payment it had made on the contract.

Conclusion:

The Court's decision in Assurity Private Ltd v Truck Sales Ltd 1960 (2) SA 686 (SR) is a significant case in Zimbabwean law. The Court's decision clarifies the law relating to the right of a person to recover a part payment they have made on a contract if the other person subsequently breaches the contract.