Posted: June 26th, 2017

Eamonn is a theatrical agent. Two of his clients, Fifi and Grainne, are operatic sopranos. In both cases, they hired Eamonn as agent after he had made impressive if vague promises as to what he could achieve for them. Each of whom signed (without reading) Eamonn’s standard terms of service, which said nothing about Eamonn’s duties, but included these terms: (i) “Eamonn shall not be liable for any consequential loss flowing from a failure to perform this contract satisfactorily”, (ii) “Eamonn’s client undertakes to pay Eamonn his monthly fee on the first day of each month”, and (iii) “in the event of a client’s failure to make payment promptly, this contract shall terminate forthwith”.

. Eamonn is a theatrical agent. Two of his clients, Fifi and Grainne, are operatic sopranos. In both cases, they hired Eamonn as agent after he had made impressive if vague promises as to what he could achieve for them. Each of whom signed (without reading) Eamonn’s standard terms of service, which said nothing about Eamonn’s duties, but included these terms: (i) “Eamonn shall not be liable for any consequential loss flowing from a failure to perform this contract satisfactorily”, (ii) “Eamonn’s client undertakes to pay Eamonn his monthly fee on the first day of each month”, and (iii) “in the event of a client’s failure to make payment promptly, this contract shall terminate forthwith”.

Horace, an operatic director, telephones Eamonn to ask whether Fifi would be free to star in a production he was about to start up. Eamonn replies (unjustifiably) that Fifi is too old for the role, and suggests that Grainne would be suitable. Delighted with the suggestion, Horace hires Grainne. However, it quickly becomes obvious that Grainne does not have the technical proficiency to perform the role, and Horace sacks her. Disheartened by the experience, Grainne sinks into depression and is incapable of work for a year; her husband Ian has to give up work for that period to care for her and for their children.

When Fifi learns what has happened, she telephones Eamonn and tells him “You’re fired”. Eamonn retorts, “Too late – you haven’t paid me for 3 months, so our contract is already terminated”.