The unpaid seller in addition to his rights against the goods as discussed above has the following thee right of action against the buyer personally.
1. Suit for price (Sec. 55):
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Where property in goods has passed to the buyer; or where the sale price is payable ‘on a day certain’, although the property in goods has not passed; and the buyer wrongfully neglects or refuses to pay the price according to the terms of the contract, the seller is entitled to sue the buyer for price, irrespective of the delivery of goods.
Where the goods have not been delivered, the seller would file a suit for price normally when the goods have been manufactured to some special order and thus are unsalable otherwise.
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2. Suit for damages for non-acceptance (Sec. 56):
Where the buyer wrongfully neglects or refuses to accept and pay for the goods, the seller may sue him for damages for non-acceptance. The seller’s remedy in this case is a suit for damages rather than an action for the full price of the goods.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
3. Suit for special damages and interest (Sec. 61):
This Section entitles the seller to sue the buyer for ‘special damages’ also for such loss “which the parties knew when they made the contract, to be likely to result from the breach of it.” In fact the Section is only declaratory of the principle regarding ‘special damages’ laid down in Section 73 of the Indian Contract Act.
The Section also recognises unpaid seller’s right to get interest at a reasonable rate on the total unpaid price of the goods sold, from the time it was due until it is actually paid. (Telu Ram Jain vs. Aggarwal & Sons).