Lecture 2-Offers Flashcards
Types of Contract
1.Bilateral
2.Unilateral
Contract formation
1.Offer + Acceptance
2.Consideration
3.Intentiona to create Legal Relations
Offer definition
An offer is an expression of willingness to contract on certain terms with the intention (actual or apparent) that it shall become binding as soon as it is accepted by the person to whom it is addressed
For an offer to be valid
An offer must be capable of acceptance (as it stands- they must be clear and certain with sufficient information). There will only a valid agreement if there is a mirror-image of offer and acceptance.
Terminology
Offeror-person who makes the offer
Offeree-person to whom the offer is made
Objectivity + Case
Storer v Manchester City Council [1974]
Law concerned with objective question of what parties said/did. If a subjective approach was considered, there would be no certainty within contract law as the intention of the parties would not mirror the terms set out in the contract
Smith v Hughes
Blackburn J: Objective Intent
“If, whatever a man’s real intention may be, he so conducts himself that a reasonable man would believe that he was assenting to the terms proposed by the other party, and that other party upon that belief enters into the contract with him, the man thus conducting himself would equally be bound as if he had intended to agree to the other party’s terms…..
An offer must be…
Certain
Scammell v Ouston
The court held that the terms which related to the HP (novel thus it required clarity) were too vague and uncertain, no binding contract had been reached.
An offer must be distinguished from
Statement of intention-
Re Fickus [1900]
Father elaborating on an intention to leave inheritance to daughter in law not an offer. It was merely an expression of his intentions, it could not amount to an offer.
Supply of information-
Harvey v Facey [1893]
Is it capable of being accepted exactly as it stands? There must be a mirror-image of offer and acceptance.
Offer or?
Invitation to Treat
An invitation to treat is a request to others to make an offer (during negotiations).
The individual making the invitation to treat is not bound to accept any offer, they are free to accept or not.
Invitations to treat
1.Displays
2.Advertisements
3.Auctions
Displays
Fisher v Bell [1961]
The displays of a shop only constitute an invitation to treat.
Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain v Boots Cash Chemists (Southern)
Self-service checkouts – invitation to treat.
Advertisements
Partridge v Crittenden [1968]
Advertisement in periodical – dependent upon wording but generally most will be invitations to treat unless wording makes it clear. They may constitute an offer for the world at large
Auctions
An auctioneer merely invites bidders to make offers for the items. The highest bid is accepted by the fall of the auctioneer’s hammer (s 57(2) Sale of Goods Act 1979).
Tenders
A tender is a bid for a contract (supply for service)
Status will depend upon the wording of the tender but request for tender usually treated as invitation to treat, the provision (contractual information for how they will meet that request) of the actual detailed tender constitutes the offer.
