Contract Law: Offer and Acceptance (L3) Flashcards
What is a ‘contract’?
- A legally binding agreement between two or more parties
- Vast majority are entered into without formalities
- Can be in oral or written form
What are the two types of contracts? (Broadly)
- Speciality contracts
- Simple contracts
What are the three types of speciality contracts?
- Agreements which must be created in the form of a deed
- Agreements which must be made in writing
- Agreements which need only to be evidenced in writing
Define an offer in contract law.
An offer is a proposal made on certain terms by the offeror with a promise to be bound by that proposal if the offeree accepts the terms.
Who is the offeror?
The person making the offer.
Who is the offeree?
The person receiving the offer.
What is an invitation to treat?
Merely an invitation to negotiate.
Give examples of an invitation to treat.
- Advertisements: Partridge v Crittenden (1968)
- Goods displayed (in a shop) for sale: Fisher v Bell (1961)
- Goods displayed (in shelves) for sale: Pharmaceutical Society (GB) v Boots Cash Chemists (1953)
- Auctions: auctioneers request for bids is an invitation to treat and each bid is an offer that can be retracted at any time before the fall of the hammer
- Tenders
True or False: Advertisements are always considered invitations to treat.
False
- Advertisements may sometimes constitute offers to the public at large.
What is a counter-offer?
A counter-offer terminates the original offer.
What are the ways to terminate an offer?
- By acceptance
- By rejection (includes making a counter-offer)
- By revocation (withdrawal) of an offer
- By lapse of time
- When reasonable length of time has passed
- By failure of a precondition
- Death of the offeree
What must acceptance be in termination of an offer?
Absolute, unconditional and communicated to the offeror.
True or False: Silence can amount to acceptance.
False
What is the postal rule regarding acceptance?
Acceptances by post take effect when they are posted, rather than when they are communicated.
What are exceptions to the postal rule?
- Offeror may specify manner of acceptance Holwell Securities v Hughes (1974)
- Instantaneous methods of communication (e.g. telephone, fax) do not follow the postal rule