Which of the following statements correctly distinguishes a sale from an agreement to sell…

Law of Contract II (Specific Contracts) Hard

Which of the following statements correctly distinguishes a sale from an agreement to sell under the Sale of Goods Act, 1930?

Option A: A sale is an executory contract, while an agreement to sell is an executed contract.
Option B: In an agreement to sell, the seller's usual remedy on the buyer's default is a suit for the price.
Option C: In a sale, the risk of loss ordinarily stays with the seller until the goods are delivered.
Option D: In a sale, the buyer gets a right in the goods good against the whole world, while in an agreement to sell his right is only against the seller.

Show answer and explanation

Answer: D. In a sale, the buyer gets a right in the goods good against the whole world, while in an agreement to sell his right is only against the seller.

Explanation

In a sale ownership passes at once, so the buyer has a right in rem, good against the whole world; in an agreement to sell, his right is in personam, only against the seller. The statement about a suit for the price is tempting, but that is the seller's remedy in a sale, while in an agreement to sell he usually has only damages. Risk usually follows ownership, so in a sale the buyer bears the loss, and a sale is the executed contract, not the executory one.

Legal provision:: Section 4, Sale of Goods Act, 1930

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