Carnegie v Waugh

Carnegie v Waugh (1823) 1 LJ KB 89

Contract law – Landlord and tenant – Privity of contract

Facts

The Scottish court had appointed two people, A and B, as the carers of C who was an infant. The guardians subsequently carried out an agreement on behalf of C, with another for the lease of a salmon fishery in Scotland. It was agreed between the parties that the annual rent would be paid to C. There was a dispute related to the agreement between the parties and an action was brought to the court which questioned the nature of the agreement.

Issue

It was important for the court to consider whether C could sue on the lease arrangement that had been agreed by his guardians and by the lessee for the salmon fishery. It was an important consideration that C, as a child, was not a party to the original agreement and was not of full age at the time the action was brought and this created a difficult point of law for the court to consider. 

Decision/Outcome

The court held that C could sue on the original agreement between the parties, despite the fact that he was not a party to that agreement. The court found that as C was attempting to rely upon an agreement that contained his own name, this was enough to be able to consider him as a party to the contract. Importantly, the court held that the fact that C was not of full age when the action was brought to the court, does still not restrict C from being a party to the agreement.