a definite and unequivocal statement of
willingness to be bound on specified
terms without further negotiations
Termination
revocation
by the offeror at
any time prior to
acceptance
Routledge v Grant
must be communicated to
offeree
Byrne v Leon
Van Tienhoven
rejection
by the offeree
- usually as a
counter-offer
Hyde v Wrench
a request for further
information does not constitute
a counter-offer
Stevenson v McLean
lapse
death of
either party
end of offer
period
fixed
reasonable
Ramsgate Victoria Hotel
Co v Montefiore
Not an offer
invitation to treat
an invitation to the other party to make
an offer; e.g. 'we may be prepared to
sell' - Gibson v Manchester City Council
most
advertisements
Partridge v Crittenden
Shop window displays
Fisher v Bell
goods on shop shelves
Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain
v Boots Cash Chemists
statement of
selling price
Harvey v Facey
statement of
intention to sell
Harris v Nickerson
Can be made in any form
- oral, written or by
conduct
Acceptance
the unqualified and
unconditional assent to the
terms of an offer. It can be
oral, written or by conduct
Communication
silence cannot be
acceptance
Felthouse v Bindley
postal rule
Adams v Lindsell
Entores v Miles
Far Eastern
Intention
Commercial
assumption is that intention is to
create legal relations
rebuttable: can prove they
didn't have intention
Jones v Vernon's Pools
Domestic/Social
assumption is there is no
intention to create legally
binding contract
Balfour v Balfour
rebuttable: can prove you
do have intention
Simpkins v Pays
Merritt v Merritt
Consideration
an act of forbearance (or the promise of it) on the
part of one party to a contract as the price of the
promise made to him by the other party to the
contract
Terms
Types
Conditions
'vital to the contract':
party will generally have
right terminate
contract.
A condition is an act or event that affects a party's
contractual duty. It is a qualification that is placed on an
obligation. The contract conditions determine the parties'
obligations. A condition is an act or event that affects a
party's contractual duty. It is a qualification that is placed
on an obligation.
Warranties
'subsidiary to the contract': party
will not have the right to
terminate;
An assurance or promise in a contract,
the breach of which may give rise to a
claim for damages. It is essentially a
minor term of a contract.
Innominate terms
the right to terminate will depend
upon the consequences of the
breach.
Representations
If a seller, when he states a fact,
makes it clear that he has no knowledge
of his own but has got his information
elsewhere and is merely passing it on, it
is likely not intended as a contract term.
incorporation
reasonable notice; course of dealing;
trade practice.
a statement, written or oral,
made during negotiations
leading to a contract
Privity
the relation between the
parties in a contract which
entitles them to sue each
other but prevents a third
party from doing so.
Breach
failing to perform any term of a contract,
written or oral, without a legitimate legal
excuse