instalment deliveries

unless otherwise agreed, the buyer of goods is not bound to take delivery by instalments. If there is such a contract, or if there is an express term permitting the goods to be delivered by stated instalments that are to be separately paid for, and the seller makes defective delivery in respect of one or more instalments, it is a question in each case, depending on the terms of the contract and the circumstances of the case, whether the breach of contract is a breach of the whole contract or whether it is a severable breach giving rise to a claim for compensation but not to a right to treat the whole contract as repudiated. In Maple Flock Co. Ltd v . Universal Furniture Products (Wembley) Co. Ltd [1934] 1 KB 148, it was held that factors that might usefully be considered are:

(1) the proportion the failure bears to the whole contract – one missed delivery out of twenty might not suggest repudiation whereas one out of three very well might;

(2) the likelihood of a failure recurring.