Hewitt v Debus Case Note Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Hewitt v Debus Case Note - Essay Example The vendor issued a notice of termination, and the solicitors for Debus alleged misrepresentation. Hewitt sold the property to another buyer, Mr. Darren Gillham, with their agreement being â€Å"subject to and conditional upon† termination of the agreement with Debus. Debus treated Hewitt termination as repudiation and she terminated the agreement herself. Debus did not seek a similar remedy, however she emphasized that her termination of the contract was valid and claimed substantial refund of the money she had paid. She demanded that Hewitt return the money she had paid. A trial judge decided that the purchaser was right because in accordance to the law, a purchaser cannot have both the land and purchase price. The vendor demanded leave to appeal. The application was heard on full submission so that, in case she was granted the leave to appeal, the appeal would be decided without a further hearing. The central matter in this appeal was whether the deed provided that time was important in the performance of Hewitt obligations to pay the amounts required by Clauses 1(c) and (d) and whether the contract between the two parties was validly terminated by the vendor’s notice of termination. Facts The vendor is entitled to terminate for a failure by the purchaser to comply with any term of the agreement irrespective of whether it is an essential term The vendor has a right to terminate where the purchaser fails to pay deposit on time or dishonours cheque for the deposit. Issue The main issue in this case was whether time was important in the performance of Hewitt obligations to pay the amounts required under their agreement and whether the vendor’s notice of termination validly terminated the contract. Holding The seller has a right to terminate for a breach of any term of the agreement irrespective of whether it is an essential term. Analysis Time was not of essence for the payments of the amounts referred in the agreement because the contract was closely similar to a contract for sale of land. A condition of time in land sale contract in equity is not important unless there are special circumstances and the contract has to clearly state that time is essential and has to be implicit from the nature of the contract in the surrounding circumstances. The agreement between the Hewitt and Debus did not have any special circumstances, which implicitly made time for performance important. Because there was no stipulation of time, the vendor was not entitled to terminate the contract because of a delay in the purchaser performing her obligation to pay the instalments. If the period were an essential obligation under the agreement, Hewitt would have been entitled to terminate the contract because of Debus having not considerably performed the necessary obligations. Debus failure to perform within the reasonable period constituted a breach of contract, however Hewitt was not entitled to terminate the contract because Debus substant ially performed part of her obligations. The judges cited section 13 of the Conveyance Act to determine whether a time stipulation was essential in equity. From the act, the judges construed that in case the vendor did not regard time to be essential in

Luck and Fate in Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment Essay

Luck and Fate in Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment - Essay Example A self-confessed drunkard, a widower with a daughter from his first wife and later on remarried to Katerina Ivanovna, a widow who had three children from her previous husband, believed that it was his fate to be a drunkard to the point that he had sold most of his possessions including some of his wife’s valued possessions (Dostoevsky 16-17). In acceptance of his fate as a hopeless drunkard, Marmeladov claimed, â€Å"Such is my fate! Do you know, sir, do you know, I have sold her very stockings for drink?. (Dostoevsky 17)† But later on reasons out that his drinking is a self-inflicted suffering to pay for his sins to his wife and children as he claimed, â€Å"Thats why I drink too. I try to find sympathy and feeling in drink.. . I drink so that I may suffer twice as much! (Dostoevsky 17)† On a close examination of Marmeladov’s behavior, he blaming his fate of loving alcohol too much was his excuse for behaving as he had confessed. Likened to a McLaughlin quote saying that, â€Å"The chief reason for drinking is the desire to behave in a certain way, and to be able to blame it on alcohol,† (Guillemets) Marmeladov blames his actions to his drinking and not entirely taking the blame to himself. On the contrary, Marmeladov, instead of putting the blame on his drinking and lamenting his fate at the tavern, should at least make efforts to retain his job better yet to accept that his family problems are his fault and that he can make a way to at least feed his children and tend to his ailing wife. Also, he should have thought of these problems when he is sober and not when he was drunk since he would eventually forget all his thoughts when the effects of his drink wear off. Marmeladov’s alcoholism had developed into a family problem. Accordingly, alcoholics may have young, teenage, or grown-up children; they have wives or husbands; they have brothers or sisters; they have parents or other relatives. An alcoholic can totally disrupt family life and cause