offer

Question 1

Clark (offer)

Answer 1

an clear and unambiguous statement of the terms upon which the first party is willing to contract

Question 2

Clifton v Palumbo

Answer 2

prepared to offer is not sufficiently definite

Question 3

Gibson v Manchester City Council

Answer 3

may be prepared to sell not sufficiently definite

Question 4

Treitel

Answer 4

an apparent intention to be bound may suffice (words or conduct are such as to induce a reasonable person to believe he intended to be bound) even if he has no such intention

Question 5

Storer v Manchester

Answer 5

look to actual intent in a man’s mind, not what he said and did

Question 6

Lefkowitz v Greater Minneapolis Surplus Store

Answer 6

advert to sell fur stoles @ $1 on first come first served basis, customer was refused sale and told it was meant for women, court refused as teh advert was ‘clear, definite and unambiguous’ and ‘left nothing open for imagination’

Question 7

Tolan v Connacht Gold

Answer 7

confirmed the subjective intention of the parties is irrelevant, must be determined on an objective basis

Question 8

Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball

Answer 8

D made medicinal product, advertisement stated any person who caught influenza having used the product was to be paid £100, deposited £1,000 in bank account as a mark of manufacturers sincerity, P caught influenza and sought £100, company claimed it was a mere puff and not an offer capable of acceptance, held the language created a distinct promise, it was a unilateral offer open to the public at large and accepted by P through conduct, the bank deposit inferred an intention to be bound

Question 9

Billings v Arnott

Answer 9

employer offered half salaries to any employee who joined defence forces, P did so but the company refused to pay as another employee from the department already joined, held the offer was clear and precise and the notice was unconditional

Question 10

Tansey v OTs

Answer 10

student could not claim that she accepted unilateral offer by examination board through handbook which she accepted in taking her place on the course as she was unaware of the offer of resits and thus could not accept an offer which she was unaware offer

Question 11

Patridge v Crittenden

Answer 11

magazine ad for wild birds @ 25s each, offecne to sell wild birds under british law at the time, found not guilty as it was an ITT only and not offer to sell

Question 12

Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball (ITT)

Answer 12

held the company exhibited intention to be bound by the terms of the ad, crucial point was putting money into separate account, turned ad into unilateral offer

Question 13

Leonard v PepsiCo

Answer 13

involved promotional Pepsi campaign for prizes in catalogue en exchange for Pepsi points, ad showed fighter jet for 7m points, extra points could be purchased for 10c each, P gave cheque for 700k and claimed jet, Wood J - in the absence of clear intention to be bound, advertisements are mere ITT, held no reasonable man could have believed plane actually on offer

Question 14

Consumer Protection Act

Answer 14

person who invites offers by way of false information or misleading statements as to price are liable under Part 3

Question 15

Pharmaceutical Society of GB

Answer 15

display of goods constitutes ITT which consumer offers to purchase by bringing to cashier

Question 16

Fisher v Bell

Answer 16

shopkeeper displayed knives in shop window, held the display was ITT thus no breach of legislation

Question 17

Pim Bros

Answer 17

shopkeeper displayed sale fo coat on credit w/o disclosing credit terms, at the time it was a breach of legislation to sell products on credit w/o terms set out with the offer, held there was no breach as the display of goods was ITT

Question 18

Clark

Answer 18

rule protects shopkeepers who would otherwise be obliged to sell goods to anyone who saw them in the window

Question 19

Harvey v Facey

Answer 19

P requested lowest price for property, D replied with price, P said they would pay, D refused, held there was no offer for sale merely ITT

Question 20

Boyers v Duke

Answer 20

P requested lowest price for product, company replied, P sent order, company refused on basis of incorrect pricing, Madden J > ‘quotation invites an offer only that the business may or may not honour

Question 21

Dooley v Egan

Answer 21

P letter enclosed list of goods for certain prices with quotation for ‘immediate acceptance only’, later argued it was ITT, held the use of words ‘immediate acceptance only’ changed the nature of the quotation making it capable of acceptance

Question 22

Carroll v An Post

Answer 22

lottery payslip is an offer accepted by adhering to the rule

Question 23

McDermott (auctions)

Answer 23

by commencing an auction w/o reserve the auctioneer is making a unilateral offer to all bidders that he will sell to the highest bona fide bidder

Question 24

Barry v Davis

Answer 24

auctioneer put machines up w/o reserve price and refused to sell to highest bidder, withdrew form auction and later sold machines through magazine advert, held that the holding of an auction w/o reserve price amounted to a contractually binding offer to sell to the highest bidder, the auctioneer acts as an agent of the owner in the formation of the contract with the highest bidder

Question 25

Warlow v Harrison

Answer 25

auctions advertised w/o reserve create a binding offer to sell to the highest bona fide bidder even if the amount does not meet the real value

Question 26

Tully v Irish Land Commission

Answer 26

using 'without reserve' creates a unilateral offer to bidders the sale will go to the highest bidder

Question 27

Friel

Answer 27

tenders are little more than written auctions

Question 28

Molloy

Answer 28

it is merely an attempt to see if a suitable offer can be drawn from the public

Question 29

Spencer v Harding

Answer 29

ad fro tenders contained no promise to sell stock to highest bidder therefore there is no obligation to sell to the highest bidder

Question 30

Guardian of the Navan Union v McLoughlin

Answer 30

P placed tender advertisement, D sent tender, P accepted at board meeting but did not communicate to D, D informed P in debt, D demanded monthly payment of bill, received no reply and refused to perform contract, held one party cannot accept tender proposal of another w/o communicating to that person it has been accepted > 'he must by some act binding on himself communicate his acceptance', thus no contract existed

Question 31

Harvela Investments v Royal Trust of Canada

Answer 31

P indicated highest offer would be accepted in accordance with contract terms, 2nd D offered referential bid which P accepted, held invalid, indication made it clear highest offer would be accepted, terms of contract referred to fixed monetary amount

Question 32

Howberry v Telecom

Answer 32

P made highest bid for cable link but referential bid won out, refused mandatory injunctive relief, held contract terms expressly stated vendors are under no obligation to accept highest bid or any bid at all thus could accept referential bid

Question 33

Smart Telecom v RTE

Answer 33

RTE invited tenders for sponsorship of weather forecast and held contract would be awarded to highest bidder, Glanbia gave highest offer, Smart gave referential bid, G got contract, held invite to seek tenders is ITT but where inviter states contract will be given to highest bidder 'the position at law is different and contractual rights may flow from such an invitation', for referential bids to be accepted there must be 'express provision in the invitation permitting such bids - approved Harvela to the effect that a referential bid will only be valid where it is expressly permitted by the terms of the tender

Question 34

Howberry Lane

Answer 34

privilege clause meant inviter was not obliged to sell to P even the only bid higher was found to be invalid

Question 35

Enright (revocation)

Answer 35

offeror is the master of his offer provided it has not been accepted

Question 36

Henthorn v Fraser

Answer 36

contract is formed on the posting of letter of acceptance, revocation letter is not effective until it is posted

Question 37

Dickenson v Dodds

Answer 37

vendor offered to sell house, offer remained open for set time, before end of time purchaser head from TP it may be sold to another, P sought to purchase home, held offer successfully revoked as P knew from TP that the offer to him had been revoked

Question 38

McDermott (Dickenson)

Answer 38

leaves offerees bound by gossip

Question 39

Friel (Dickenson)

Answer 39

suggests there should be sound jurisprudential reasons for requiring revocation to come from offeror

Question 40

Walker v Glass

Answer 40

offer stated acceptance affected by payment of debt, purchaser indicated they were willing to accept, vendor revoked, held to be valid revocation as there was no acceptance by way of deposit prior to revocation, intention to accept is irrelevant

Question 41

Daulia v Four Millbank Nominees (unilateral offers revocation)

Answer 41

held obiter that once offeree embarks on performance, offer is irrevocable

Question 42

Enright v Enright

Answer 42

father told son and daughter-in-law, after paying 1/3 purchase price of house, if they paid the balance he would convey the house to them, held once the couple began paying instalments, the offer was irrevocable

Question 43

Parkgrange Investment v Shandon Park

Answer 43

Carroll J; where there is no express deadline, acceptance must take place within a reasonable time which will be judge objectively for each case

Question 44

Ramsgate Victoria Hotel v Monterfiore

Answer 44

offer to purchase shares in June was not accepted until November, court agreed with D that offer lapsed by delay, share prices are very unsteady and the delay was excessive

Question 45

Dooley v Egan

Answer 45

'immediate acceptance' requires swift responce

Question 46

Lynch v Governor of St Vincents

Answer 46

new contract issues in February was not accepted until December however a circular in August reminding doctor of last date to accept confirmed the availability of the offer

Question 47

Friel (offeree death)

Answer 47

an offer is made on the assumption that it is to living people and that it is not made to dead people

Question 48

Re Whelan

Answer 48

W personally guaranteed the current acc of a firm, he died but the bank were unaware until some months later, the court held the guarantee ceased once the bank had knowledge of his death

Question 49

Re Irvine

Answer 49

farmer accepted offer for sale of land, told son to post letter but died before he could do so, held 'a valid act cannot be done by a dead man'

Question 50

McDermott (counteroffers)

Answer 50

if the response to an offer is anything less than clear and unequivocal acceptance of the exact terms of the offer, then the response will be seen as a counter offer

Question 51

Mirror image rule

Answer 51

acceptance must be in the exact term as the original offer, any alteration of terms is a counter offer

Question 52

Hyde v Wrench

Answer 52

D offered to sell farm for 100, P willing to pay 950, created a new offer cancelling the original, D refused and P accepted the first offer, the offer no longer existed as the second offer cancelled it

Question 53

Swan v Miller

Answer 53

P offered to buy premises for sum, D replied accepting 'plus rent', held there was no contract as the vendor imposed a new term creating a new offer

Question 54

Gibbs v Lakeside Development

Answer 54

correspondence specifying a different payment date can constitute counter offer

Question 55

Stevenson, Jacques v McLean

Answer 55

D offered to sell goods at a rate, P questioned whether they would accept additional terms, P received no reply an accepted original offer, D refused on the basis that the correspondence was a counter offer, held it was a mere enquiry