Offer Flashcards
Definition of contract
A contract is an agreement that is legally enforceable between two or more persons
How does Clark define an offer?
Clark defines an offer as a “clear and unambiguous statement of the terms upon which the offeror is willing to contract should the offeree decide to accept”
What are the 4 requirements for a contract to exist?
Terms are clear certain and complete
Offer is communicated to the other party
Offer must be written or spoken by words or inferred by conduct
Offer intended to be such
What is a Bilateral Offer?
Both parties agree to perform mutual duties and both parties are bound by the offer
What is a unilateral offer?
A unilateral offer involves performance on one side making obligatory promise on the other. Only one party is under a contractual obligation.
What are quotations?
An enquiry for an estimate of the likely price of goods that does not constitute an offer
Boyers v Duke
Here an estimate of the lowest price at which canvas would be sold was held to be an estimate only and not an offer to sell at that price.
McDermott v McDermott
Described a unilateral contract as an offer that is “seriously intended to be binding, should persons come forward to accept it”
A unilateral offer implies:
That acceptance may be made by the performance of some specified act
A unilateral offer must satisfy two conditions:
- Be communicated
- Be made with the intention of being seriously made
Carlill v Carbolic Smokeball
Unilateral offer, advertisement for “carbolic smokeball” which was said to prevent contracting influenza. Promise to pay anyone who used the smokeball and contracted influenza 100 pounds. Held for defendant as unilateral offer as deposit of 1000 pounds to pay customers demonstrated the advertisement was more than a mere sales puff.
Leonard v PepsiCo
Points for harrier jet case. Held to be sales puff and that any objective view of the advertisement would come to the conclusion that it was not to be taken seriously.
Invitation to treat
An invitation to treat is merely an offer inviting offers and is not intended to be contractually binding should the other party agree to its terms.
Clarke states that an invitation to treat:
protects shopkeepers who would otherwise be obliged to sell goods to anyone who saw them in the window
Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain v Boots
Goods on display to take to the counter are not an offer. Consumer offers to purchase the goods by bringing them to the cashier.
Fisher v Bell
The defendant was charged with the offence of offering a flick knife for sale by displaying it in his window. The court had to decide whether, by displaying the goods in such a manner, the shop keeper was ‘offering’ them for sale. Held- “Display of an article in a shop window with a price tag on it is an invitation to treat”.
Communication of revocation
Communicating that an offer has been revoked and can no longer form the basis of a contract
Dickinson v Dodds
The offeree must be made aware of the revocation
Routledge v Grant
The defendant informed the claimant he would keep an offer open for six weeks, but during this period before acceptance, withdrew the offer. The court held that the defendant was not contractually bound to keep the offer open for the specified time on the basis as Best CJ held the offeror may ‘at any time before it is accepted retract it’.
Walker v Glass
The offeror held that a contract was to be accepted by payment of deposit. The offeree sent a letter of acceptance however the offeror revoked offer after this letter. This was held to be valid as the terms stated acceptance occurred at payment of deposit.
How is an offer terminated?
Rejection
Revocation
Lapse of time
Death
Difference between an offer and an invitation to treat
An invitation to treat is merely an offer inviting offers and is not intended to be contractually binding should the other party agree to its terms.
Quotations
Where a party provides an indication as to what price they might be open to accepting this is not usually a binding offer.
Harvey v Facey
The plaintiff here requested lowest price for property which defendant replied with price. Plaintiff said they would pay but the defendant refused and the plaintiff sued for specific performance. There was no offer to sale, merely an indication of the price.
