Breach of Contract Better Breeds

A. The Police Dogs

I) The City’s Best Case

Breach of Contract

The City would begin by proving that 1) there was a properly formed contract, 2) there was a breach of this contract, and 3) there was harm. To show that there was a properly formed contract, the City would demonstrate that there was an offer (they wanted to purchase the police dogs), acceptance (Better Breeds agreed to train the dogs and sell them to the City), and consideration (an invoice and money were exchanged for the dogs). As for the breach of contract, the City would reference the Sale of Goods Act (“SGA”) to show that there was a breach of an implied condition, as will be discussed below. Finally, the City suffered harm as the dogs were not fit for her purpose and she will need to purchase new dogs that can satisfy the police department’s riot control needs.

Sale of Goods Act Applies to the Contract

The contract concerns a sale of goods; The sale of the police dogs is considered a sale of goods. Despite the training provided by Better Breeds, the City’s intent of entering into the contract was to receive the dogs (the goods), not the services that Better Breeds provided.

Money consideration is exchanged; The police dogs were priced at $6,000 each, and an invoice was provided to the City of Kingston when they were delivered.

Title to the goods changes or is intended to change; As the dogs are unascertained goods (rather than specific goods), title transferred when the goods were “unconditionally appropriated to the contract” (i.e. upon delivery).

There is no agreement to exclude the provisions of the SGA; As there was no written contract for the business affairs of the City and Better Breeds, there was no exclusion of the implied terms in the Sale of Goods Act, including the implied conditions and warranties.

Breach of an Implied Condition

Section 15(1) of the SGA, states that “Where the buyer, expressly or by implication, makes known to the seller the particular purpose for which the goods are required so as to show that the buyer relies on the seller’s skill or judgment…there is an implied condition that the goods will be reasonably fit for such purpose.” This fitness for purpose implied condition is the one that the City would argue was breached by Better Breeds. The City would argue that the seller was explicitly told the purpose of the dogs when Amy stated that she wanted “police dogs - dogs with a high threshold for work and that are intelligent.” The plaintiff told Better Breeds this to demonstrate that they would rely on the seller’s judgement and that the goods would be reasonably fit for such a purpose. The City would argue that the description Amy provided included all matters associated with the police force