Bexwell v. Christie

98 Eng. Rep. 1150 (1776)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
B
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Bexwell v. Christie

England and Wales High Court of Justice
98 Eng. Rep. 1150 (1776)

MP

Facts

Bexwell (plaintiff) engaged Christie (defendant) to act as an auctioneer and to sell his horse in a public auction. The terms of the public auction specified that the highest bidder on each good would be named that good’s purchaser. However, Bexwell directed Christie not to let the horse go for under 151, implying that he wanted the auctioneer to ensure that the bidding went above 151. In the public auction terms, Bexwell did not specify that bidding should start at or above 151. At auction, Christie sold the horse to the highest bidder for an amount less than 151. Bexwell sued, asserting that the auction was unlawful because Christie had let the horse go to the highest bidder despite Bexwell’s explicit instructions. In deciding whether to let the case go forward, the court considered the role of an owner in a public auction and addressed the propriety of allowing an owner to engage a third party to bid up the price for a good being sold at public auction.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Mansfield, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 820,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 820,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 989 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 820,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 989 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Art Law

Key Terms