Clements v London and North Western Railway Company (1894) is an English contract law case that dealt with the issue of exclusion clauses in contracts.
In this case, Clements deposited his horse with the London and North Western Railway Company (LNWRC) for carriage from Willesden to Wavertree. The company issued a ticket which included an exclusion clause that limited the company’s liability to £10 in the event of loss or damage to the horse.
During the carriage, the horse was injured and Clements sued the LNWRC for damages. The company relied on the exclusion clause in the ticket to limit their liability to £10.
The court held that the exclusion clause was not incorporated into the contract between Clements and the LNWRC. The court held that the ticket was not a contractual document, but rather a receipt for the horse and a request to carry it. As such, the exclusion clause was not brought to the attention of Clements before the contract was made and was not binding on him.
The case of Clements v London and North Western Railway Company is an important case in the law of contract as it established the principle that exclusion clauses must be brought to the attention of the parties before the contract is made in order to be effective. The case also confirmed that a ticket or similar document issued by a party does not necessarily form part of the contract and that exclusion clauses must be incorporated into the contract by other means, such as negotiation or notice.