(BLUE) Offer and Acceptance Flashcards
Who is the offeror and who is the offeree?
The offeror is the person making the offer.
The offeree is the person who receives the offer.
What must there be for a contract?
Agreement, consideration and intention for legal relations.
What is an offer?
A clear and firm indication of terms to form an agreement.
What is an invitation to treat?
An indication of what terms might be agreeable.
What happened in Gibson v MCC?
The Council did not have to sell the house because their wording was not clear of firm, making it an invitation to treat not an offer. Gibson made the offer when he completed the application form but the Council did not have to accept this offer. They received an offer and chose not to accept it.
Which case says that shop displays in windows are only invitations to treat?
Fisher v Bell
Which case says that shop displays on shelves are only invitations to treat?
PSGB v Boots
Which case says that written advertisements are only invitations to treat?
Partridge v Crittenden
Which case had an advertisement that was so clear it amounted to an offer?
Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co. The advertisement was so clear about giving £100 to anyone who got the flu that it amounted to an offer (it was also a unilateral contract).
What did the case of Harvey v Facey say?
Responses to requests for further information are not offers.
What is a bilateral contract?
Two way obligation. Both parties are obliged to perform their side of the contract.
What is a unilateral contract?
A one way obligation. Only one party needs to deliver on the contract but no other person is forced to perform the contract. Sometimes called ‘open offers’, ‘open contracts’ or ‘offers to the world’. For example, contests or rewards.
How can an offer end?
- Acceptance (turns the offer into an agreement)
- Rejection (offer is ended if it is rejected)
- Death of the offeror
- Counter offer
- Lapse of time
- Withdrawal/ revocation
How can death end an offer?
If the offeree knows the offeror has died, the offer dies with them. If the offeree doesn’t know the offeror has died, the offer is still capable of being accepted unless a personal service is involved.
How does a counter offer end an offer?
If an offeree wants to accept the offer but change a term in it, this will be a counter offer. This ends the original offer and makes a new one so the original offer can’t be accepted unless both parties want to- Hyde v Wrench.
How does a lapse of time end an offer?
If an offer will be open until a particular time, the offer will end when that time has passed. If no set time is given, an offer can end after lapse of a reasonable time depending on the circumstances- Ramsgate Hotel v Montefiore.
How can a withdrawal/ revocation end an offer?
Offers can be revoked by the offeror as long as they have not been accepted. Routledge v Grant says revocation can be done even if an offer was meant to be open for a particular amount of time as long as the revocation was communicated and there had not already been an acceptance. Dickenson v Dodds says revocation can be made by a reliable third party.
What does the offeree have to do for acceptance to be effective and why is this a good thing?
Communicate the acceptance with the offeror. The acceptance must mirror the exact terms of the offer. This means freedom of contract is respected because it would be unfair for the offeror to be legally bound without knowing about it.
Which case says that the offeror can specify that acceptance be made in a particular way?
Yates v Pulleyn.
(If the offeror only suggests a mode of communication, then other methods can be used. If no method is specified, any reasonable form of communication can be used.)
Which case says that silence or inactivity is not acceptance?
Felthouse v Bindley
What is the exception to the rule in Felthouse v Bindley?
Carlill- Acceptance can be made through conduct if the terms of the contract were enough that performing the conduct would be acceptance. Usually with unilateral contracts.
What does Adams v Lindsell say about acceptance by post?
Posting a letter of acceptance is effective when the letter is posted; it does not have to be received.
It only applies to acceptances, not offers or revocations. It also only applies if post is the usual/ expected means of communication, letters are correctly addressed and stamped and the offeree can prove the letter was posted.
Which case says that offers and revocation by post are only effective once they have been received?
Byrne v Van Tienhoven
What does the case of Holwell v Hughes say?
If a party requests notice in writing of an acceptance, the courts will probably interpret this as meaning the letter has to be received by the offeror before it is effective.
What is positive about the postal rule?
Creates certainty because it gives a definite time of acceptance and won’t be changed if the letter is lost or delayed.
What is negative about the postal rule?
Can be uncertain because there are no limits on when the rule is used, it goes against the usual rules of acceptance and the offeror can be in a contract without knowing about it if the letter is lost which goes against freedom of contract.
What did the court decide about instantaneous forms of communication like email, text, social media?
Entores v Miles Far East Corp- instant messages must be received to be acceptance.
What did the court say in relation to messages left during office hours?
Brinkibon- messages left during office hours are effective when they are left, even if they aren’t read or listened to.
What did the court say in relation to messages left outside of office hours?
Brinkibon- disputes about out of office hours acceptances should be resolved by looking at the parties’ intentions and normal business practice. (e.g. if the parties have been communicating out of office hours in the past, acceptance can be in out of office hours. Otherwise, acceptance becomes effective once office hours resume).
What does the rule in Brinkibon apply to?
Acceptances, offers and revocations (unlike the postal rule).
What does Article 11 of the E-Commerce Regulations 2002 say?
- The advertisement on the website is the invitation to treat
- The placing of an order by the buyer is the offer
- The seller will usually acknowledge the offer with an electronically generated email but this is usually not acceptance
- The acceptance is usually another email from the seller stating that the goods have been dispatched
