Contract Law Formation Case Law Flashcards
Spellman v. Spellman (1961)
Contracts
Domestic Agreements
KEY PRINCIPAL
Case: Husband buys car for wife in effort to save marriage. Couple split, husband takes car as he paid for it
HELD: The wife decides to take her ex-husband to court post-divorce over the dispute. It was decided by the courts there was no contract…it was a domestic agreement.
Jones v Vernons Pools (1938)
Contracts
Agreements binding in honour alone
Case: Mr. Jones filled in two winning entries on coupons for a sales promotion and sent it to Vernon Pools. The coupons contained the words of “binding in honour only” and that the entry of the coupon “shall not give rise to any legal relations.”
HELD: The Court held that the existence of the terms “binding in honour only” and that the entry of the coupons “shall not give rise to any legal relations” on the coupons themselves demonstrated that the parties did not have the intention to be legally bound. Thus, Mr. Jones’ claim for the prize money was not an enforceable legal contract, and his claim was dismissed.
Petrie v. Earl of Airlie (1834)
Unilateral Promise
CASE: In the village where the Earl lived someone had a fall out with him as he didn’t carry out a promise he agreed to do.
Defamatory notices of the Earl posted around the village. He promises a reward if someone snitches and these individuals are convicted. Note: no acceptance required Petrie tells on his brother and the Earl attempts to prosecute
BUT
HELD: The court throws out the case as “no indictable offence committed”. Earl refuses to pay award to Petrie. However it was found that since the Earl made a promise & petrie complied with the conditions meaning the reward should be paid.
Morton’s Trustee v. Aged Christian Friend Society of Scotland (1899)
Unilateral Promise
CASE: Morton makes a written promise to pay pension of 50 members of society but then dies. His executors then refuse
HELD: Morton had made a unilateral promise that was enforceable.
In Scottish law, if a unilateral promise is made in writing even in some cases verbal then they are enforceable.
Carlill v. Carbolic Smokeball Co (1893)
Offer
Must be precise & definite
KEY PRINCIPAL
Case: Carbolic smokeball developed to avert the flu. So confident was the company that it worked, they offered £100 to anyone who bought it, used it according to the instructions and still caught flu.
Mrs Carliil purchased a smokeball. This did not work. She then passed away and her husband claimed against the company.
HELD: The wording of the advert was such that it constituted an offer…even though it was made to the world at large and not a specified individual.
A contract existed even though there was no written contract AND even though there was no express acceptance of the offer – merely complying with its terms was enough to form a contract
Harvey v. Facey (1893)
Invitation to treat
KEY PRINCIPAL
Case: A property was put up for sale in Jamaica called “Bumper Hall Pen”.
The owner was contacted by a prospective buyer saying.
“Will you sell us Bumper Hall Pen? Telegraph lowest cash price”…an estate in Jamaica…all correspondence by telegraph
“Lowest price for Bumper Hall Pen is £900”
“We agree to buy Bumper Hall Pen for £900 asked by you. Please send us your title deeds in order that we get early possession”
Contract of sale is then disputed with defender claiming the 2nd telegraph was not an offer but a mere invitation to treat
HELD: There was no binding contract because an offer was never made…it was an invitation to treat.
By telegraphing the lowest price this was not the owner making an offer but merely an invitation to treat.
Fisher v. Bell (1961)
Invitation to treat
Goods on display
CASE: Knife on display in the window and shop-keeper prosecuted for selling offensive weapon
HELD: No guilty because there was no offer made…a display of goods is an invitation to treat
Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain v. Boots Cash Chemist (1953)
Invitation to treat
Self-service stores: goods on shelf ≠ an offer
CASE: The sale of certain medicines must take place in the presence of a registered pharmacist. If goods on shelf = offer then sale occurs when goods are placed in the basket and so not in the presence of a registered pharmacist.
HELD: Goods on shelf ≠ an offer. The offer occurs when goods are taken out of the basket at the till and the pharmacist accepts the offer or (supervises it) and so sale with in the law.
Partridge v. Crittenden (1968)
Offers
Adverts
Case: Defendant advertises sale of live birds contrary to Protection of birds Act 1954. RSPCS prosecutes as unlawful
HELD: An advert is not an offer because it is not capable of acceptance and so it is an invitation to treat. Thus, defendant not guilty.
Thornton v. Shoe Lane Parking (1971)
Vending machines are an EXCEPTION to an invitation to treat.
However, vending machines do make an offer (not an invitation to treat) which is capable of acceptance by a member of the public taking a ticket.
Thornton v. Shoe Lane Parking (1971)
Vending machines are an EXCEPTION to an invitation to treat.
However, vending machines do make an offer (not an invitation to treat) which is capable of acceptance by a member of the public taking a ticket.
Wolf & Wolf v. Forfar Potato Company Ltd (1984)
Counter-Offer
IMPORTANT PRINCIPAL ESTABLISHED
Case: Offer made to sell potatoes, so long as accepted by 5pm the next day. Next day a telex arrives to accept the offer but contains new conditions. Customer told that conditions are unacceptable and another telex arrives accepting the first offer.
HELD: First telex is a counter offer which has the effect of cancelling the first offer and replacing it with a new one. Therefore there is no longer an original offer that is capable of acceptance.
Dickinson v. Dodds (1876)
Offer lapse: Either party loses capacity
English court of appeal states that an offer does not necessarily cease to be capable of acceptance after the death of the offeror.
Reynolds v. Atherton (1922) the death of the offeree terminates the offer
Wylie and Lochhead v. McElroy and Sons (1873)
Offer lapse
Offer is not accepted within reasonable time (context specific)
Case: Offer to carry out decorative iron work not accepted for 5 weeks but during that time the price of iron increased. However, offeror could no longer do the work for the same price…therefore a dispute
HELD: Original offer had expired
