Law of Sale of Good (Sale of Goods Act)

Law of Sale of Good (Sale of Goods Act)

1. Strictly for the "SALE' of "GOOD" excludes contract of hire or leasing, gifts , sale of house, provision of services etc

   • Includes WEB-BASED TRANSACTIONS, provided that both the buyer and seller are BASED IN SINGAPORE (applicable to other countries provided that the Singapore Govt governs the transaction)

2. IMPLIED TERMS

   • Obligations implied by the SOGA are AUTOMATICALLY IMPLIED into every contract of sale EVEN IF THE PARTIES MAY NOT HAVE EXPRESSIVELY ADDRESSED THESE ISSUES
     • SECTION 12
       • Section 12(1): Implied CONDITION(if breached, the seller can repudiate contract, reject goods and sue for damages if any): Seller has the RIGHT TO SELL the goods (PASS THE OWNERSHIP OF THE GOOD)
       • Section 12(2): Implied WARRANTY that goods will be free from any CHARGES or ENCUMBRANCES(claims by another party) not made known to the buyer before the contract-> if some third party has some proprietary interest in the good BUT SELLER STILL SELLS WITHOUT DISCLOSING--> BREACH OF SECTION 12(2)
         • Should not have any lawful interference from a third party
           • eg the sale of pirated goods, goods that infringe patent rights of 3rd parties
     • SECTION 13
       • Section 13: Implied term that GOODS WILL CORRESPOND WITH THE DESCRIPTION
         • "contract for sale of good by description"- goods ordered by looking at catalogues,magazines
       • Section 13(3): sale of goods DOES NOT cease to be a sale by description just because the good had been exposed(shown, inspected) and selected by the buyer
         • BUT, the buyer must have RELIED on the description
     • SECTION 14 (140-141)
       • Section 14: ONLY applies when the seller is selling in the COURSE OF BUSINESS; Buyer would not be protected if he buys goods from seller who is not selling IN THE COURSE OF BUSINESS
       • IMPLIED: Goods will be satisfactory; 14 2(A); satisfactory= reasonable man would regard the good as satisfactory considering the description, price, and all other relevant circumstances
         • 1) Fit to be used for ALL the purpose/functions that its commonly used for 2) Appearance and finish 3) Freedom from minor defects (for NEW products since a reasonable man would expect a new product to be in perfect condition), 4) safety (labelling, warning if needed) 5) durability (depends on type of good)
       • 14(2): Covers packaging as well(there might not be anything wrong with the good) + Where MANY goods are concerned, ALL of them must be of satisfactory quality (buyer entitled to reject the whole lot)
         • EXCEPTION: 14(2) DOES NOT APPLY if defects were known to buyer BEFORE contract made/ buyer examined the goods BEFORE contract and THAT should have revealed the defect
           • BUYER