Minors (infants)

A minor or infant is a person under the age of 18. As a general rule, he will be entitled to avoid his contracts and damages will not be awarded against him. For example, he will not be bound by trading contracts which he makes.

In Cowern v. Nield (1912), it was held that a minor who was a hay and straw merchant was not liable to repay the price of the goods which he failed to deliver.

In Mercantile Union Guarantee Corporation Ltd v. Ball (1937), an infant haulage contractor who took a lorry on hire-purchase was held not liable for arrears of instalments.

On the other hand, a minor can recover damages against an adult if the latter breaks the contract. The minor can sue, but cannot be sued.

There are, however, a few limits on this rule. First, as regards actions against the minor:

1. A minor must pay a reasonable price for necessary goods sold and delivered to him. He need not pay the contract price if this is exorbitant, and in any event he can withdraw from the contract at any time before delivery. Furthermore, this rule only applies to 'necessaries', that is, goods suitable to the minor's condition in life and to his actual requirements at the time of sale and delivery.

In Nash v. Inman (1908), an undergraduate ordered expensive clothes from a tailor, including 11 fancy waistcoats. The minor's father was a prosperous architect, and it was argued that the clothes were suitable to the minor's station in life. Since he was already well supplied with clothes, however, these goods were held not to be necessaries.

2. By the Minors' Contracts Act 1987, a court has a discretion, if it seems just and equitable, to require an infant to transfer to the other party any property acquired by the infant under the contract. (A court might now, therefore, order the return of the waistcoats, or of the lorry in Mercantile Union Guarantee Corporation v. Ball if such a case occurred today.) Before 1987, the court could only do this if the minor was proved to have been fraudulent when he made the contract.

3. Money lent to a minor cannot be recovered. However, if the money is lent to a minor specifically to enable him to buy necessaries, the lender can recover such part of the loan as is actually spent on necessaries at a reasonable price. The lender is said to be 'subrogated' to the rights of the supplier of the goods against the minor.

4. Contracts of employment, apprenticeship and education which, taken as a whole, are for the minor's benefit form the main full exception to the general rule. If as a whole the contract is beneficial, the court will enforce all of the clauses, even ones which, taken in isolation, are not beneficial.

In Doyle v. White City Stadium (1935), an infant boxer was held bound by a clause in his contract which provided for forfeiture of his prize money if (as happened) he was disqualified. The contract as a whole was similar to apprenticeship.

5. Special rules apply to contracts of a continuing nature which can last after the minor reaches 18. A contract such as a lease, a partnership or the holding of shares in a company can be binding before 18 unless the minor repudiates it. It will continue to be binding after 18 unless the young person ends it within a reasonable time of reaching full age.

6. Other contracts made while one party was a minor can, under the 1987 Act, be ratified by him when he reaches full age. The contract was unenforceable against him when he made it, but his ratification - if he does choose to ratify - may now make it binding on him.

7. The Minors' Contracts Act makes it possible for an adult validly to guarantee a minor's obligations under a contract. The guarantor can be liable if the minor breaks his contract, even if the minor himself could not have been held liable.

Finally, as regards actions against the minor, the court will not hold him liable for damages in tort if this would merely be an indirect way of awarding damages for breach of contract.

There are also some exceptions to the rule that a minor can sue on his contracts. For example, since the remedy of specific performance will never be awarded against a minor, the court will not award it to a minor either (Unit 5). As another example, when a minor avoids the contract, as a general rule he can recover money or goods which he has handed over, but if he has received a benefit under the contract this will not be the case.

In Valentini v. Canali (1889), a minor leased a house and agreed to buy some furniture, paying part of the price. After several months the minor left, and avoided the contract as he was entitled to do. He could not recover the payments which he made for the furniture, however, because he had received some benefit from the contract.