Offer and Acceptance Flashcards
Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball
An offer is formed where any reasonable person would believe it to be an offer
Partridge v Crittenden
Advertisements are invitations to treat, not offers
Byrne and Co v Van Tienhoven and Co
Revocation of an offer must be communicated
Hyde v Wrench
Counter offer destroys original offer
Stevenson, Jacques and Co v McLean
Invitation to treat vs counter offers…
an invitation to treat does not destroy the original offer
Brogden v Metropolitan Railway
An offer can be accepted through conduct…
if new terms are set and one follows those new terms through conduct, the new contract has been accepted
Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain v Boots Chemist
Display of sales of goods are an invitation to treat not an offer to sell
(Outlined in Sales of Good Act)
Felthouse v Bindley
Silence is not sufficient acceptance
Entores v Miles Far East
General rule for instantaneous methods of communictaion is that acceptance is valid when communicated
(case to case basis; the intention of parties must be reviewed)
Adams v Lindsell
‘Postal rule’ acceptance is valid on posting… when posting is a contemplated means of communication
Dickinson v Dodds
Withdrawal must be bought to the attention of the offeree
Notification by a third party of an offers withdrawal, is just as effective as a notification of withdrawal made by the offeror himself.
Offer =
Expression of willingness to contract specified terms made with the intention that it is to become binding as soon as it is accepted
Acceptance =
A final, unequivocal (leaving no doubt) and unconditional (not subject to any conditions) expression of assent to the terms of an offer
Acceptance must be…
communicated …
- verbally
- written
- conduct
What does a counter offer do to the original offer?
Destroys it
What is an invitation to treat?
A willingness to negotiate
What is meant by an ‘objective approach’ to the question of valid contract formation?
An agreement between parties exists if a reasonable person could judge the acts of the parties to objectively interpret agreement
An objective approach protects the position of the offeree as they can fully understand the terns of an agreement (as a reasonable person would)
An offer, acceptance and revocation of an offer all have to be…
communicated
Objective intention in contract law?
Words are to be interpreted as they were reasonably understood by the man to whom they were spoken, not by the one who spoke them
Intention to create legal relations is an intention to enter into a legally binding agreement … what factors should be considered?
- Parties minds should be obvious about entering
- If there is none, the contract will not be legally enforceable or binding
- Without it, the parties cannot sue each other
- Contract becomes a mere promise
Bilateral vs Unilateral contracts:
In a unilateral contract, the offeree makes no promise and so is under no obligation to do anything, whereas, a bilateral contract places obligations upon and grants rights to both parties
Termination of an offer:
- The offeror can terminate an offer at any time but must communicate this withdrawal (either by himself or through a third party) before the other party accepts the offer.
- If the offeree rejects the offer, or makes a counter offer, this will terminate the original offer.
- Other ways can also come about, such as lapse of time, or, death in one party, however, this is still unclear.
Acceptance by modern communication methods:
Must look at the particular situation to determine that all reasonable steps have been taken to communicate acceptance.
Acceptance by post:
general rule is that offer is accepted when the letter is posted, not when it reaches the offeror (only applying where the offeror contemplated that it may be posted, so this rule is less likely to apply today, with new, more modern means of communication methods). It will also not apply where the offer expressly or impliedly requires actual unequivocal communication of acceptance
