Amalgamated Investments v John Walker
Where the contract for the
purchase of property for redevelopment was notfrustrated when the buildings on
the land was listed as being of architectural or historical interest, so that
redevelopment became almost impossible. The Court of Appeal, applying Davies
Contractors[1], held that
the risk of the property was with the plaintiff purchaser because the
defendants genuinely did not know of the listing and that the said listing
occurred after the contract was signed. Indeed, “the frustrated expectations
and intentions of one party to a contract do not necessarily, or indeed
usually, lead to the frustration of the contract