Acceptance Flashcards
Acceptance
Acceptance confirms that the the terms of the offer are agreed once an offer is accepted there is a binding contract though here does have to be consideration and intention to create legal intentions acceptance
must be positive and unqualified
can be verbal written or by conduct
acceptance must be communicated to the person who made the offer
yes but yes if etc is not acceptance
Subheadings of acceptance
How is an offer accepted
When does acceptance take place
How is an offer accepted
Acceptance can be in any form so it doesn’t have to be in the same method which the offeror used (as long as the offeror agrees for that method to be used)
The rule is the offeror must be aware of acceptance for acceptance to be valid
Silence is never indicates acceptance
How is an offer accepted case
Felthouse v bindley
Held: there was no contract silence is never valid acceptance
AO3 How is an offer accepted
P: In felthouse v bindley the court went against the wishes of both the uncle and nephew this was the correct decision as it is important for acceptance to be clear so silence should not be valid acceptance as it would blur the lines between The offeror and the offeree as it would be unclear whether a binding contract has started
DP: if this case ruled that this was valid acceptance it could open flood gates to frivolous claims this could overwhelm the court
WDP: however this want the correct decision because the uncle and nephew wanted the house to go to the nephew so their wishes should have been taken into account
You can specify how acceptance to be communicated
Sometimes the courts will waiver this and make this valid acceptance anyway
You can specify how acceptance to be communicated case
Yates v pulleyn
Held: the requirement was waived this was valid acceptance as it is merely a directory instruction not a mandatory one
Mandatory instruction
Instruction which the court decides are non negotiable if these are not followed then there is no contract
Directory instructions
Instructions which the court decides are not fundamental and if these are not followed there can still be a valid contract
AO3 You can specify how acceptance to be communicated
There is no parliamentary definition of mandatory and directory instructions the issues that could arise from this is judges have created these ideas which is a form of judicial creativity this goes against separation of powers judges should not be making the law the rule should be decide by parliament because of parliamentary sovereignty so this could be an area for parliament to reform and give firm statutory definition to make the certain
When does acceptance take place
Acceptance by conduct
Acceptance by post
Acceptance by electronic method
Acceptance by conduct
Acceptance by conduct takes place through actions
This is valid acceptance (particularly in unilateral contracts)
Acceptance by conduct case
Carlill v carbolic smokeball
In the case the contract was accepted by conduct when she went out and bought the smokeball following the instructions given
Acceptance by conduct AO3
P: it is valid for an offer to be accepted by a persons conduct as contracts do not need to be signed so it should be binding
DP: this allows for just decisions to be made it grants access to justice as the law is flexible
WDP: however the acceptance was. Or made clear to the new offeror so they were aware that they had entered a valid contract parties may end being bound without meaning to
Acceptance by post
For acceptance by post the postal rules are followed
The postal rules only apply to letters of acceptance not offers or counter offers
The rule is acceptance takes place as soon as the letter is posted however the following rules apply
1 post must be usual or expected means of communication
2 the letter must be properly addressed or stamped
3 the offeree must be able to prove the letter has been posted
