Offer

Question 1

Definition

Answer 1

A promise or proposal to show a willingness to enter a contract on definite terms

Question 2

Unilateral/bilateral offers

Answer 2

Unilateral offer- one party makes a promise which will be fulfilled if the other party meets the criteria (Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball)
Bilateral offer- requires both offeror and offeree to complete an obligation

Question 3

Invitation to treat

Answer 3

Willingness to negotiate in a contract e.g. goods in a shop window (Fisher v Bell), advertisements (Partridge v Crittenden), auction bids (British Car Auctions v Wright), information requests (Harvey v Facey)

Question 4

Who can make an offer?

Answer 4

Any person, business or machine can make an offer (Thornton v Shoe Lane Parking), however this must be communicated, silence is not acceptance (Taylor v Laird)

Question 5

Revocation

Answer 5

To revoke an offer means to withdraw it which can be done at any point before acceptance but this must be communicated, an offer can also be revoked through a reliable third party if both parties are aware (Routledge v Grant)

Question 6

Rejection

Answer 6

Once an offer has been rejected it is destroyed and cannot later be accepted but this must be communicated as well as counter offers which too destroy original offers (Hyde v Wrench)

Question 7

Ran out of time

Answer 7

If there is a fixed period for an offer to last then as soon as it expires the offer ends, if there is no set time then the offer will be open for a reasonable amount of time depending on the nature (Ramsgate Victoria Hotel v Montefoire)

Question 8

Death

Answer 8

If the offeree dies, the offer will end but if the offeror dies then acceptance can still take place until they learn of the death (Bradbury v Morgan)