| In re Selectmove Ltd | |
| Court: | Court of Appeal |
| Date Decided: | 21 December 1993 |
| Citations: | [1993] EWCA Civ 8, [1995] 1 WLR 474 |
| Judges: | Peter Gibson, Stuart-Smith and Balcombe LJJ |
| Keywords: | consideration, part payment of debt |
In re Selectmove Ltd. 1993. EWCA. Civ. 8. is an English contract law case concerning the legal doctrine of consideration and partial payment of a debt.
Selectmove Ltd owed the Inland Revenue substantial sums in outstanding tax and national insurance. The managing director, Mr ffooks, met with Mr Polland, from the Inland Revenue and said he would pay future tax as it fell due and the arrears at £1,000 a month. Mr Polland said he would have to check and would contact the managing director if it was unacceptable. Selectmove Ltd heard nothing until a £25,650 notice came in and a threat of a wind-up petition. Mr ffooks subsequently claimed that the Revenue had said he could repay less. The High Court held that even if that were found to be true, Mr Polland had not bound the Revenue, and there was no consideration for the varied agreement anyway.
Peter Gibson LJ (Stuart-Smith and Balcombe LJJ concurring) observed that Foakes v Beer[1] precluded any variation of the agreement to repay the debt without good consideration, despite the recent decision in Williams v Roffey Bros Ltd. Peter Gibson LJ stated that ‘it is clear… that a practical benefit of that nature is not good consideration in law’. As his Lordship put it, in forceful language,