Barry is a lecturer in Biology at Nottingham University, and a keen gardener with a large orchard. Nogrow Ltd is a manufacturer of gardening requisites, and has a number of retail outlets from which they sell their own products and those of other manufacturers. Last March Barry visited one of these outlets to buy fertiliser. In the past, he had always used a top brand, but was hoping to find something cheaper. He looked at several types of fertiliser on display, noted the widely differing prices, and read the promotional leaflets. He studied the chemical composition of each fertiliser, given in the leaflets. Some fertilisers required application to the roots, others to leaves. He then sought the advice of the only available sales assistant, a youth who did not seem to know much about the products on sale. The sales assistant recommended that Barry should buy Nogrow Ltd's 'Apple Gro', which, at 60, was considerably cheaper than all other brands in stock. Barry decided to buy a sack of 'Apple Gro', and was given a sales invoice to sign, which stated:

1. Nogrow Ltd agree to refund the purchase price paid for any goods which fail to conform with commercially recognised standards of quality or with any description applied to them. Any damages or compensation payable shall not exceed the purchase price of the goods sold.

2.All claims against Nogrow Ltd must be made within 21 days of purchase.

3.Nogrow Ltd does not give any undertaking as to the suitability or fitness of goods purchased for any particular purpose.

Barry paid for the fertiliser and signed the invoice without reading it.

The instructions on the fertiliser stated: "Spray once on leaves and fruit during June or July in dry weather", and gave details of dosage rates. Barry duly sprayed his apple trees on a sunny day in July, but that night there was a heavy rainstorm, which washed away some of the fertiliser before it took effect. Barry did not realise that rain could wash away the fertiliser and no specific statement to this effect was contained in the instructions. The fertilisers Barry had previously used were applied to the tree roots and were not affected by rain.

When the trees produced fruit, the apples were small and sour. Though Barry had previously sold most of his apple crop to a local greengrocer and had won prizes for his apples at local horticultural shows, this crop could not be sold or entered for shows. As a result, Barry became depressed, his lecturing work suffered, and he was not even shortlisted for a promotion which most of his colleagues thought he would get.

Barry is a lecturer in Biology at Nottingham University, and a keen gardener with a large orchard. Nogrow Ltd is a manufacturer of gardening requisites, and has a number of retail outlets from which they sell their own products and those of other manufacturers. Last March Barry visited one of these outlets to buy fertiliser. In the past, he had always used a top brand, but was hoping to find something cheaper. He looked at several types of fertiliser on display, noted the widely differing prices, and read the promotional leaflets. He studied the chemical composition of each fertiliser, given in the leaflets. Some fertilisers required application to the roots, others to leaves. He then sought the advice of the only available sales assistant, a youth who did not seem to know much about the products on sale. The sales assistant recommended that Barry should buy Nogrow Ltd's 'Apple Gro', which, at 60, was considerably cheaper than all other brands in stock. Barry decided to buy a sack of 'Apple Gro', and was given a sales invoice to sign, which stated:

1. Nogrow Ltd agree to refund the purchase price paid for any goods which fail to conform with commercially recognised standards of quality or with any description applied to them. Any damages or compensation payable shall not exceed the purchase price of the goods sold.

2.All claims against Nogrow Ltd must be made within 21 days of purchase.

3.Nogrow Ltd does not give any undertaking as to the suitability or fitness of goods purchased for any particular purpose.

Barry paid for the fertiliser and signed the invoice without reading it.

The instructions on the fertiliser stated: "Spray once on leaves and fruit during June or July in dry weather", and gave details of dosage rates. Barry duly sprayed his apple trees on a sunny day in July, but that night there was a heavy rainstorm, which washed away some of the fertiliser before it took effect. Barry did not realise that rain could wash away the fertiliser and no specific statement to this effect was contained in the instructions. The fertilisers Barry had previously used were applied to the tree roots and were not affected by rain.

When the trees produced fruit, the apples were small and sour. Though Barry had previously sold most of his apple crop to a local greengrocer and had won prizes for his apples at local horticultural shows, this crop could not be sold or entered for shows. As a result, Barry became depressed, his lecturing work suffered, and he was not even shortlisted for a promotion which most of his colleagues thought he would get.

Barry now wishes to sue Nogrow Ltd for all compensation possible, including the purchase price of the fertiliser, loss of profit on sale of the apple crop, loss of prize money from shows, stress, and loss of the increase in salary he would have got on promotion.

Nogrow Ltd deny liability, and argue that, in any event, they are protected by the invoice terms from any liability beyond the purchase price paid by Barry.

Answer the following scenarios:

1.Discuss the grounds on which Barry may make a claim against Nogrow Ltd.

2.Assuming Nogrow Ltd is in breach of the contract of sale discuss the validity of the terms of sale in the invoice.

3.Assuming that Agro Ltd is liable for breach of the contract of sale, and is not protected from liability by the terms of sale in the invoice, discuss the remedies available to Barry.

4.Develop a hypothetical case on breach of contract that you might encounter in your work life and highlight the solution to the given case.