Acceptance

Question 1

What is acceptance?

Answer 1

Acceptance is the final and unequivocal expression of agreement to the terms of an offer.
It must be shown as a matter of fact- either expressed/ implied by conduct
It must be communicated to the offeror.

Question 2

Name the 2 cases on Acceptance as a Matter of Fact

Answer 2

1.Brodgen v Metropolitian
2. Commerce commission v telecom mobile

Question 3

Brodgen v Metropolitian

Answer 3

Facts: The plaintiff had been supplying coal to the defendant for a number of years and suggested that they enter into a formal contract. The def drew up a contract and sent it to the plaintiff. The plaintiff added amendments and put an approved stamp and gave it back to the defendant who stored it in a filing cabinet. After a dispute the question arose as to if it was an acceptance.

Held: the carrying out of the conduct constituted to acceptance. Acceptance can occur by the commencement of a course of dealing.

Question 4

Commerce commission v Telecom mobile

Answer 4

Facts: A mobile phone and contractual documents were sent( after inquiries were made) and on the packaging it said that opening the package would constitute acceptance.

Held: The courts accepted that it was acceptance due to the expressed notice on the packaging

Question 5

What are the principles of acceptance.

Answer 5

1. It must be shown as a matter of fact.
2. It cannot be made in ignorance of an offer
   3 .Can be valid even if a person is unmotivated by the offer.
3. A counter offer is not acceptance
   5.Acceptance must be communicated to the offeror.

Question 6

Acceptance Cannot be Made in the ignorance of an offer.
Name the cases

Answer 6

1. R v Clark
2. Gibbons v Proctor

Question 7

R v Clark

Answer 7

Facts: An offer of a reward for information leading to the arrest of a particular person was published. Clark, a jailed accomplice gave information but admitted that he forgot about the reward.

Held: because he was unaware of the offer, he could not accept it and therefore he was not entitled to the reward

Question 8

Gibbons v Proctor

Answer 8

Facts: A reward if £25 was offered for info leading to the arrest of a criminal. The advert stated that the info must be given to the superintendent. Police asked colleague to forward relevant info to the superintendent but was not aware of the offer at the time. But before the information teacher the superintendent, the officer became aware of the offer.

Held: the officer became aware of the offer prior to the acceptance and therefore was eligible to receive the reward.

Question 9

Acceptance is valid even if unmotivated by the offer.
Name the case

Answer 9

Williams v Carwardine

Question 10

Williams v Carwardine

Answer 10

Facts: The defendant offered a reward to anyone giving information leading to the capture of the person who murdered his relation. The plaintiff gave the relevant information believing herself to be dying and wishing to clear her conscience. The criminal, Williams, was convicted.

Held: Even though the plaintiffs intention was to clear their conscience, they were aware of the reward and were therefore entitled to it.

Question 11

What is a counter offer seen as
Name the cases

Answer 11

A counter offer is not seen as an acceptance but rather a rejection of the original offer.
1.Hyde v Wrench
2. Wheeler v Jeffrey
3.Swan v Miller

Question 12

Hyde v Wrench

Answer 12

Facts: The defendant offered to sell the property £1200 but the plaintiff declined so the defendant offered to sell the property for £1000. The plaintiff offered to buy it for £950. The defendant declined and then the plaintiff said that he would buy it for 1000 but the defendant refused to sell it to him.

Held: The court dismissed the claims and held that there was no binding contract for the farm between Mr Hyde and Mr Wrench. It was stated that when a counter-offer is made, this supersedes and destroys the original offer.

Question 13

Wheeler v Jeffrey

Answer 13

Facts: Partes were negotiating a contract under which the plaintiffs were to act as an agent to sell the defendant’s goods. During correspondence, there was no mention of a commencement date. On June 10 the plaintiffs wrote “We agree to carry on your agency as from 1st July’. On June 12th the defendants wrote indicating their acceptance.

Issue: Was the contract formed on June 10th or June 12th?

Held: The contract was formed on June 12. The mention of a commencement date in the 10 June letter added a new term and was therefore a counter-offer which was accepted by the defendants on June 12th. It was possible for the defendants to reply that the date proposed in the letter of June 10 was not acceptable. Had they done so, no contract would have resulted

Question 14

Swan v Miller

Answer 14

Facts: A purchaser offered to buy premises for £4,750. He was unaware of a ground rent to which it would be subject to £50. The vendors thought that the purchaser was aware of this and replied by accepting his offer of £4,750 “plus £50 annual rent”.

Held: The Court of Appeal held that no contract came into being at this point: because the buyer was unaware of the 50 pound per year and the vendors reply made it into a new term.
As a result it did not constitute an acceptance of the offer which was made, but rather a counter-offer

Question 15

Distinguish Between a Counter Offer and A request for information.

Answer 15

As a general rule, an enquiry will not constitute a counter-offer:
- if it departs from the wording in order to make express some term which the law would
otherwise imply eg. that goods are of merchantable quality
- if the new provision merely indulges the offeror e.g. a statement that interest will be charged
for late payment. This indulges the offeror as it implies that late payment will be acceptable.
- if the additional material is material which was negotiated and simply left out of the document.

Question 16

Name the request for information case

Answer 16

Stevenson v mcclean

Question 17

Stevenson v mcclean

Answer 17

Facts: The defendant was trying to sell iron and asked the plain&ff to get offers indica&ng that he would sell at 40s per ton. The plain&ffs sent a telegram asking if the defendant would accept “40 for delivery over 2 months, or if not, the longest limit you could give”.
Held: The Court held that this was merely an inquiry and did not consNtute a counter offer.

Question 18

What is the battle of the forms?
What’s the case?

Answer 18

• Effectively, in the course of negotiations, each party puts forward terms and conditions, asserting that its terms should govern the contract.
• As such, during the course of negotiations several offers and counter offers may be made before acceptance occurs.
• The basic rule is that until one party accepts the other party’s terms, without conditions, there is no contract.
• In essence, ‘the last shot wins the battle ‘ - the offer that is last made immediately before the agreement is reached governs the terms of the contract.

1. Butler machine tool

Question 19

Butler machine tool

Answer 19

Facts: The plain&ffs offered to provide delivery of a machine tool for the price of £75,535. The delivery of the tool was set for 10 months, with the condition that orders only qualified as accepted once the terms in the quotation were met and prevailed over any of the buyer’s terms. The buyer responded to the offer with their own terms and condi&ons, which did not include the ‘price variation clause’ listed in the seller’s terms. This included a response section which required a signature and to be returned in order to accept the order. The sellers returned this response slip with a cover letter signalling that delivery would be in accordance with their original quotation. The tool was ready for delivery but the buyers could not accept delivery, for which the sellers increased the price which was in line with their initual terms. This was denied by the buyer and an action was brought by the seller to claim the cost of delay and interest.

Held: The court allowed the buyer’s appeal. The court found that the buyer’s order was not an acceptance of the initial offer from the seller but a counter-offer which the sellers
had accepted by returning the signature section of the buyer’s letter. On this basis, the court found that the contract was completed without the price variation clause and therefore the seller could not increase the cost of the tool.