Krupp v Menzies, [1907] ScotCS CSIH – 7
Citation:Krupp v Menzies, [1907] ScotCS CSIH – 7
Rule of thumb: What happens if there is a drafting error with a number in a contract? If it is a clear & obvious error then it can be amended even after the contract is signed.
Judgment:
The basic facts of this case were that the 2 parties had agreed a contract for employment whereby the employee would receive a fifth of the company’s company’s profits relating to the work carried out, and this was fairly standard with people in the position. The employee drafted the contract, but rather than write 1/5, 5% was written by accident. The Court held that this was a clear clerical mistake which could be amended, and that the employee was due 20% of the profits. Lord President Dunedin said: ‘it is a very delicate matter to interfere with a written contract expressed in clear terms, and that parole proof should not be rashly allowed in such a case. But there are cases in which it would be truly a disgrace to any system of jurisprudence if there was no way available of rectifying what would otherwise be a gross injustice.’
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