Parker v South Eastern Railway [1877] 2 CPD 416 is a famous English contract law case on exclusion clauses where the court held that an individual cannot escape a contractual term by failing to read the contract but that a party wanting to rely on an exclusion clause must take reasonable steps to bring it to the attention of the customer.

Lord Coleridge CJ, Brett J and Lindley J decided in favour of Mr Parker, upholding the jury award.

Lindley J remarked, On the finding of the jury, I think we cannot say that the defendants did not accept the article, to be taken care of by them, without any special terms.

After the conclusions of fact which the jury have drawn, it is, upon the authority of that case, quite immaterial whether the special terms relied on were on the front or on the back of the ticket.The majority of the Court of Appeal held there should be a retrial.

Bramwell LJ dissented, holding that reasonable notice should be a question of law, and that held decided in favour of the railway company.