帶o野入戲院食

今日在newsgroup同人discuss with the following topic:

原文: "剛才看到話唔比帶o野入去食, 其實佢得唔得?. 我帶o野入去, 例如我去supermarket買了一大袋o的好貴的飲品, 想帶番屋企飲, 咁你要我交低, 咁係唔係佢負責有任個損失先, 我唔放低, 可唔可以要求退票? 又另外, 有人話要開袋比佢查, 佢都傻o既, 我偷o野呀? 開袋比佢查? 如果話我偷o野,咁唔該報警......"

My view is:

i) Can search bags?

Even police doesn't have the power to search others' bag unless he suspects the person is related to some crimes. If security guard searchs the bag without consent of customer, customer can sue for the wrongful act done by the security guard. The cinema owner is vicariously liable for the tort committed as trespass to chattel.

ii) Can ask cinema for compensation?

- First it depends on whether the term on 合約有無定明i)帶食物入戲院; ii)可以搜袋. Some ppl have confused with this concept. Most likely there is term or warranty stating that customers cannot bring food or beverage into the cinema. If customer brings the above stuffs, he has breached the contract and the cinema does not have to refund the ticket/

- However the case is somewhat different here as the focus is on whether refusing cinema to search one's bag may constitute a breach of contract. Searching bags of customer is outside the power of cinema as it may infringe human right. Police is only allowed to search other people's bags unless he suspects some crimes has been committed. Thus in this case, the security does not have the power to search the bag. Also the cinema is hard to prove whether customer has brought in food or beverage into the cinema as customer refuses to let them search. At this point contract has not been breached by customer even he refuses security guard to search as there is not any term stating that cinema can search customers.


- Anticipatory breach is where the party expresses its intention not to
perform its contractual obligation before its performance or acts in such a
way as to show its intention to break the contract before it is due. In this case, after customer refuses to let security guard to search his bag, if the cinema does not allow customer to enjoy the movie, it implies that the contract will not continue. The cinema may have breached and frustrated the contract.

- Innocent party can either
i) Accept the breach and immediately sue for damages
ii) Ignore the breach and wait for time when performance is due

- Most likely the cinema may have to compensate customers for the ticket fee plus other extra damages if the customer can rely on Jarvis v. Swans Tours Ltd [1973] 1 All ER 71 where the Court of Appeal awarded him damages for his loss of enjoyment. Mental distress could be recoverable in contract if the object of the contract was to provide entertainment or enjoyment, and there was a breach of this undertaking by the defendants. Damages were awarded for the disappointment, distress, upset and frustration caused by the breach.