Offer Of Contract Flashcards
What is a contract
A promise or a set of promises which the law will enforce
What does a valid contract require
Offer
Acceptance
Consideration
Intention to create legal relations
Unilateral contract
Only one of the two parties has an obligation to fulfill
Bilateral contract
Both parties have an obligation to fulfill
Subheadings of offer
The words of the offer must be certain
Who can make an offer
How long does offer last
An offer or invitation to treat
Request for further information - not an offer
Offer intro
An offer is the starting point of a contract it is a statement of the terms upon which the person making the offer is willing to enter the contract an offer can be verbal or written there are two parties to an agreement offeree and offeror
Offeree
The person who the offer is made to
Offeror
The person who makes the offer
The words of an offer must be certain
It must be clear an offer is being made words and phrases such as might be prepared to or may be able to are uncertain if the words are uncertain this will not be an offer
Case for the words of the offer must be certain
Gibson v mcc
Held mcc hadn’t made an offer they suggested the purchase was possible not definite mr Gibson was unable to purchase the house
AO3 The words of an offer must be certain
P: there is an argument that this decision is fair as the council didn’t intend on being legally bound
DP: this decision upholds legal principle as d could have contracts imposed on them that they didn’t intend on entering
WDP:however often the court is unsure whether the words used are uncertain or not the issues that can arise from this is the word certain could promote judicial creativity
VWDP: as the judges apply subjective view of whether the words are certain or not may lead to inconsistency this conflicts with ROL and lawyers may not be able to advise clients on likely outcome of case
Who can make an offer
An offer can be made by anyone this includes individuals and businesses offers can be made at notice or by a machine
Case for who can make an offer
Thornton v shoe lane parking
Held: c accepted the terms of the contract by purchasing a ticket so they were bound by the terms the claim was unsuccessful
How long does an offer lasts
An offer can only be accepted whilst it’s open in some contracts the time it is opened for will be specified in some contract the court will have to decide the offer is open once it is communicated by the offeror
The courts will look at timing on a case by case basis to determine if the offer is still open
Stevenson v McLean there was a breach of contract as the contract wasn’t effectively revoked
How long does offer last case
Taylor v laird
Held: he was entitled to nothing as no offer was communicated to his employer
How long does offer last AO3
the captain was not entitled to nothing as the offer was not made to his employer they did not have a chance to reject the offer
DP: if this is allowed lots of people will be entering contracts without an offer opening floodgates for breach of contracts
WDP: however morally it could be argued that he should be entitled to wages as he did carry out the work