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Contract

England & Wales

Frustration of contract

The rule

A contract is frustrated where, without default of either party, a supervening event renders performance impossible, illegal, or radically different from what the parties undertook. Frustration discharges the contract automatically and prospectively.

Mandatory cases

Curated chronological

1. 01

   Taylor v Caldwell · 1863

   (1863) 3 B & S 826 · Court of Queen's Bench Procedural posture

   Action in the Court of Queen's Bench; judgment for the defendants on the demurrer.

   Origin of the doctrine, destruction of the subject matter (a music hall) frustrated the hire contract.

   What cuts the other way

   Modern force-majeure clauses now displace the doctrine in commercial contracts; defendants point to express provisions to deny frustration before the doctrine ever engages.

2. 02

   Krell v Henry · 1903

   [1903] 2 KB 740 · Court of Appeal Procedural posture

   Appeal from the King's Bench Division dismissed; the licensor recovered no further rent.

   Frustration of common purpose, the cancelled coronation procession case is the textbook authority for purpose-frustration.

   What cuts the other way

   Herne Bay Steam Boat v Hutton [1903] 2 KB 683, decided the same year, confines Krell tightly: only where the cancelled event was the sole foundation of the contract.

3. 03

   Davis Contractors Ltd v Fareham UDC · 1956

   [1956] AC 696 · House of Lords Procedural posture

   Appeal from the Court of Appeal dismissed; the contractor's frustration argument failed.

   Set the high bar, mere hardship or increased cost is not frustration; performance must become radically different.

   What cuts the other way

   Davis sets a bar that defeats most COVID-era frustration claims; mere increased cost or delay is not enough, even on a substantial contract.

4. 04

   National Carriers Ltd v Panalpina (Northern) Ltd · 1981

   [1981] AC 675 · House of Lords Procedural posture

   Appeal from the Court of Appeal dismissed; the doctrine applied in principle but the lease was not frustrated on the facts.

   Confirmed that leases can in principle be frustrated, while making clear how rare a successful claim will be.

   What cuts the other way

   Although leases can be frustrated in principle, the House of Lords found no frustration even where the warehouse was inaccessible for 20 months; in practice frustration of a lease is virtually impossible to establish.

Run a real argument through LexCases

A wedding venue contract becomes impossible to perform after a national lockdown bans gatherings. Build the strongest argument that the contract is frustrated.

LexCases will run the argument against current case law and rank the cases, including these foundations and any later cases that have built on or pulled away from them.

Curated for England & Wales. Always verify each case before relying on it in formal work. Citations are accurate at the time of publication, but the law moves.