August 31, 2025
Metropolitan Water Board v Dick Kerr & Co Ltd [1917] UKHL 2 (26 November 1917)
A contract to build a reservoir was halted by a government order during WWI. The contractors argued this 'frustrated' the contract, terminating it. The House of Lords agreed, finding the indefinite government intervention fundamentally altered the original contractual obligations, rendering it void. Facts In July 1914, the respondents, Dick, Kerr & Co. Ltd., entered into a contract with the appellants, the Metropolitan Water Board, to construct a reservoir and associated works at Staines within a period of six years for approximately £673,000. Work commenced but was disrupted by the outbreak of the First World War. On 21 February 1916, the
