Payment of deposit – failure to pay – time of the essence – whether repudiatory breach

Samerenko v Dawn Hill House Ltd [2011] EWCA Civ 1445

The facts in brief

In this case the respondent vendor (V) and the appellant purchaser (P) entered into a contract for the sale/purchase of a property for the price of £5 million. The contract was subject to the Standard Conditions (4th ed), supplemented by Special Conditions, a deposit of £0.5 million was to be paid. The contract was conditional upon P obtaining planning permission in a draft form attached to the contract.