Agreement 1

Question 1

Smith v Hughes (1870-1871)

Answer 1

Established the objective approach to agreement.

Question 2

Hartog v Colin & Shields (1939)

Answer 2

An exception to the objective approach. In this case the subjective intention of the parties was examined. The offeror made a mistake as to the terms of the offer and the offeree knew of the mistake.

Question 3

Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co (1893)

Answer 3

Classic case which defined a unilateral offer - that is, an offer which prescribes an act which, when performed, constitutes acceptance.

Also displays that an advertisement can be an offer, not merely an invitation to treat.

Question 4

Gibson v Manchester City Council (1979)

Answer 4

In this case the offer was not sufficiently clear or certain, and lacked the requisite intention to be legally bound.

Question 5

Storer v Manchester City Council (1974)

Answer 5

Opposite to the ‘Gibson’ case, here the offer was sufficiently clear and certain, and showed an intention to be legally bound.

Question 6

Partridge v Crittenden (1968)

Answer 6

Established the general rule that advertisements are an invitation to treat.

Question 7

Fisher and Bell (1961)

Answer 7

Established the general rule that goods displayed in a shop are invitations to treat.

Question 8

Pharmaceutical Society of GB v Boots Cash Chemists (1953)

Answer 8

An offer was made by the customer when he presented the goods at the cash desk. The customer’s offer could be accepted or rejected at the cash desk.

Question 9

Spencer v Harding (1870)

Answer 9

A request for tenders, is merely an invitation to treat.

Question 10

Harvela Investments Ltd v Royal Trust Co. of Canada (1985)

Answer 10

An exception to the rule established in Spencer v Harding (1870). An invitation to tender that expressly contains an undertaking to accept to the highest or lowest bidder is an offer, not an invitation to treat.

Question 11

Blackpool & Fylde Aero Club Ltd v Blackpool Borough Council (1990)

Answer 11

In this instance, there was an offer to consider the bids, although there was no promise to accept any of the bids.

Question 12

Payne v Cave (1789)

Answer 12

Established the principle that an auctioneer’s request for bids is an invitation to treat.

Question 13

Warlow v Harrison (1859)

Answer 13

Exception to the rule in Payne v Cave (1789). If the auction sale is expressed to be ‘without reserve’ there are two contracts. One is a bilateral contract between the bidder and the auctioneer; and the other is a unilateral contract based on the promise that the auction will be ‘without reserve’. The claimant would be entitled to damages, but not the goods (as that is dictated by the bilateral contract, not the unilateral contract).

Question 14

What are the three ways that an offer can be terminated?

Answer 14

1. Rejection
2. Lapse
3. Revocation

Question 15

Hyde v Wrench (1840)

Answer 15

A counter-offer constitutes a rejection.

Question 16

Stevenson, Jacques & Co. v McLean (1880)

Answer 16

A request for information is not a counter-offer and therefore not a rejection.

Question 17

Ramsgate Victoria Hotel Co. v Montefiore (1866)

Answer 17

An offer can lapse through the passage of time if a) acceptance is not made within the period prescribed by the offeror; b) where no period is prescribed and acceptance is not made within a reasonable time.

Question 18

Bradbury v Morgan (1862)

Answer 18

If the offeree knows that the offeror has died, the offer will lapse; if the offeree is unaware of the offeror’s death, it probably will not.

Question 19

Kennedy v Thomassen (1929)

Answer 19

The death of the offeree will cause the offer to lapse and cannot be accepted after the offeree’s death by the offeree’s representatives.

Question 20

Financings Ltd v Stimson (1962)

Answer 20

Non-fulfillment of a condition will cause the offer to lapse.

Question 21

Payne v Cave (1789)

Answer 21

The offer can be revoked, as long as this happens before it is accepted.

Question 22

Byrne v Van Tienhoven (1880)

Answer 22

Communication is essential if the offeror wishes to revoke the offer.

Question 23

Dickinson v Dodds (1876)

Answer 23

Communication of a revocation can be indirect (such as being delivered, accidentally, by a third party).

Question 24

Daulia v Four Mill Bank Nominees Ltd (1978)

Answer 24

You cannot revoke a unilateral offer once the offeree has begun to complete the requisite act necessary to satisfy the offeror.

Question 25

Shuey v United States (1875)

Answer 25

In order to revoke a unilateral offer, the offeror must give the same notoriety to the revocation as they did to the initial offer itself.