Third party rights鈥攖he common law doctrine of privity of contract
Published by a 老司机午夜福利 Dispute Resolution expert
Practice notesThird party rights鈥攖he common law doctrine of privity of contract
Published by a 老司机午夜福利 Dispute Resolution expert
Practice notesThis Practice Note discusses the Common law doctrine of Privity of Contract; the equitable and statutory exceptions to it; how the doctrine affects enforcing a contract against a third party and what happens when, notwithstanding the lack of Privity, a contract has an indirect effect on a third party. For guidance on contracts and third parties more generally and on the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 (C(RTP)A 1999), respectively, see Practice Notes:
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Contracts and third party rights
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Third party rights鈥攖he Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999
What does privity of contract mean?
'Privity of contract' is a common law doctrine, which provides that you cannot either:
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enforce the benefit of, or
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be liable for any obligation under
a contract to which you are not a party.
Therefore, at common law, if your client is not a party to a contract (ie they are a third party) then they cannot sue or be sued under that contract.
Example:
A promises
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