Offer & Acceptance

Question 1

What is the difference between an agreement and a contract?

Answer 1

Offer + Acceptance = Agreement

Agreement + Consideration + Intent for legal relations = Contract

Question 2

What did Gibson v MCC say?

Answer 2

The councils wording was not clear enough for it to amount to an offer. Whereas they were simply inviting him to make an offer.

Question 3

What case is used for shop windows being an invitation?

Answer 3

Fisher v Bell

Question 4

What case is used for shop shelves being an invitation?

Answer 4

PSGB v Boots

Question 5

What case is used for advertisements in newspapers being an invitation?

Answer 5

Partridge v Crittenden?

Question 6

What did Carlill say?

Answer 6

If an advertisement is clear in its terms it is capable of being an offer.

Question 7

What did Harvey v Facey say?

Answer 7

Requests for information and answers to the information are not offers.

Question 8

What is a bilateral contract?

Answer 8

Where two parties both have to do something after the contract is made. For example, M agrees to sell P their car for £2000. P has to pay the £2000 and M has to hand the car over.

Question 9

What is a unilateral contract?

Answer 9

Where only one party has an obligation. This is usually only in reward situations.

Question 10

What are the 6 scenarios when contracts end?

Answer 10

1 - Acceptance - Offeree agreeing with the terms, turning the offer into an agreement.
2 - Rejection/Refusal - Offeree rejects an offer, ending it
3 - Death of the offeror - if the offeree does know of the death, the offer dies, but if they don’t, the offer can still be accepted.
4 - Counter offer - If the offeree wants to accept but change a term in it. The counter offer ends the original offer.
5 - Lapse of time - Offer ending after a particular/reasonable amount of time.
6 - Withdrawal/Revocation - Offers can be withdrawn as long as they have not been accepted.

Question 11

What is the case for counter offer?

Answer 11

Hyde v Wrench - The counter offer ends the original offer, meaning the old offer can no longer be accepted.

Question 12

What is the case for lapse of time?

Answer 12

Ramsgate Hotel v Montefiore

Question 13

What are the cases for withdrawal/revocation?

Answer 13

Routledge v Grant - Revocation can be done even if the offer was meant to be open for a particular amount of time.
Dickenson v Dodds - Revocation can be done by a reliable third party.

Question 14

What did the case of Yates v Pulleyn say?

Answer 14

The offeror can specify a method of acceptance.

Question 15

What did the case of Felthouse v Bindley say?

Answer 15

Silence or inactivity is not acceptance - acceptance must be communicated to the offeror.

Question 16

What are the cases for acceptance by post?

Answer 16

Adams v Lindsell - Posting a letter of acceptance is effective when the letter is sent - it does not need to be received.

Byrne v Van Tienhoven - Revocation is only effective when received. In this case the letter of acceptance was sent before the letter of revocation was received.

Holwell v Hughes - If a party requests a ‘notice in writing’ of an acceptance, this means the letter of acceptance must be received before it’s effective.

Question 17

What are the cases for acceptance via new forms of communication?

Answer 17

Entores v Miles Far East Corp - Instant messages must be received to be effective acceptance.

Brinkibon v Stalag Stahl - Messages left during office hours are effective when they are left - even if they aren’t read or listened to. If the message was left outside of office hours, how the two parties were communicated prior will be looked at. If the parties were communicating out of office hours in the past, acceptance can be made out of office hours. Otherwise, acceptance becomes effective once office hours resume.

Question 18

When did Article 11 of the E-Commerce Regulations say acceptance is received online?

Answer 18

When someone is ‘able to access’ them