ON 1 JULY 1920, the NSW Conveyancing Act 1919 commenced.
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/ca1919141/
Sydney, Australia
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R v Smith (“Brides in the Bath case”) (1915) 11 CR App R 229
ON 13 AUGUST 1916, the Court of Criminal Appeal delivered R v Smith (1915) 11 Cr App R 229.
The defendant was accused of murdering his wife, Bessie Munday, who was found dead at home in her bath. Evidence of the death of two subsequent wives in similar circumstances was held to be admissible as it was improbable that three different women would have accidentally drowned in the bath given that their deaths occurred not long after entering marriage and financial arrangements under which which the accused would stand to benefit if they died.
Smith’s appeal was unsuccessful. He was convicted and hanged on 13 August 1916.
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1914 | Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914
ON 15 OCTOBER 1914, the United States enacted the Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914.
BA, LLB, Grad Cert Leg Prac, Acc Spec Lawyer
Federal Trade Commission Act
ON 26 SEPTEMBER 1914, the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914 (15 U.S.C §§ 41-58, as amended) was signed into law by US President Woodrow Wilson.
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/chapter-2/subchapter-I
BA, LLB, Grad Cert Leg Prac, Acc Spec Lawyer
Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co Ltd v New Garage & Motor Co Ltd [1914] UKHL 1
ON 1 JULY 1914, the House of Lords delivered Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co Ltd v New Garage & Motor Co Ltd [1915] AC 79; [1914] UKHL 1 (1 July 1914).
http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKHL/1914/1.html
Liquidated sum clauses are valid and enforceable under contract law; penalty clauses are not. A liquidated sum is a genuine estimate of the losses from a breach; a penalty frightens or deters a party from breach.
A court will construe a clause to be a penalty if:
- It is extravagant or unconscionable.
- It is greater than the money payable for a breach for failure to pay money.
A court will presume a clause to be a penalty if it is for a single lump sum payable in the occurrence of one or multiple events, some of which may only warrant minimal damages.
A court will presume a clause to be liquidated if the consequences of a breach are hard or impossible to estimate as it is probable that the pre-estimated damage was the true bargain between the parties.
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Addis v Gramophone Co Ltd [1909] UKHL 1
ON 26 JULY 1909, the House of Lords delivered Addis v Gramophone Co Ltd [1909] UKHL 1, [1909] AC 488.
http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKHL/1909/1.html
The decision is notable for establishing the general principle that damages for breach of contract do not cover injured feelings, mental anxiety, distress, anguish or frustration.
In cases of wrongful or unfair dismissal, damages are limited to lost earnings during the period of notice and are not to compensate the manner of dismissal; loss of reputation; difficulty of finding other employment; or injured feelings, mental anxiety, distress, anguish or frustration.
Damages for breach of contract are compensatory and the court may not award exemplary damages.
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Swiss Civil Code
ON 10 DECEMBER 1907, Switzerland introduced the Swiss Civil Code.
Sydney, Australia
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Best v Best [1908] VicLawRp 1; [1908] VLR 1
Best v Best [1908] VicLawRp 1; [1908] VLR 1 (1 October 1907).
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/vic/VicLawRp/1908/1.html
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Balmain New Ferry Co Ltd v Robertson [1906] HCA 83
ON 18 DECEMBER 1906, the High Court of Australia delivered Balmain New Ferry Co Ltd v Robertson [1906] HCA 83; (1906) 4 CLR 379 (18 December 1906).
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/1906/83.html
A party who wishes to rely on a contractual term is required to show that it did all that was reasonable to bring term to the other party’s attention.
The plaintiff was not considered to have been falsely imprisoned by the ferry terminal’s turnstiles as he was considered to be free to leave the premises by water.
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Fingerprint evidence | 23 May 1905
ON THIS DAY in 1905, Alfred and Albert Stratton were the first in Great Britain to be convicted for murder in a trial where fingerprint evidence was used.
http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/browse.jsp?id=t19050502-415&div=t19050502-415
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