contract Flashcards
Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain v Boots Cash Chemists Ltd [1953] 1 QB 401
The display of goods in a shop does not amount to an offer by the shopkeeper to sell, but merely an invitation to treat. Such an offer will not be accepted until it is presented at the cashier’s desk or paid for.
Australian Woollen Mills Pty Ltd v Commonwealth (1954) 92 CLR 424
- An offer must give rise to a contractual obligation and be capable of acceptance.
- Consideration must be referable to the promise which is sought to be enforced.
Seppelt & Sons Ltd v Commission for Main Roads (1975) 1 BPR 9147
Use of the word ‘offer’ does not necessarily mean a contractual offer has been made.
Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Company [1893] 1 QB 256
- An offer can be made with “all the world”.
- Acceptance in unilateral contracts generally takes the form of performance of an act.
- An advertisement can take effect as an offer.
Felthouse v Bindley (1862) 142 ER 1037
Silence does not amount to acceptance.
Empirnall Holdings Pty Ltd v Machon Paul Partners Pty Ltd (1988) 14 NSWLR 523
An offeree’s performance of an act indicating an intention to accept will suffice to bind him or her.
Butler Machine Tool Co Ltd v Ex-Cell-O Corporation (Eng) Ltd [1979] 1 All ER 965
- The counter-offer kills the original offer.
2. In the battle of forms, generally the last shot fired wins.
Hewthorn v Fraser [1892] 2 Ch 27
The postal acceptance rule will only apply if the parties contemplated that acceptance could be communicated by post
R v Clarke (1927) 40 CLR 227
Acceptance will only be effective where the offeree has acted ‘on the faith of or in reliance upon the offer made’.
Dickinson v Dodds (1876) 2 Ch D 463
Revocation of an offer can be communicated by the offeror, their agent or a third party, so long as it is clear to the offeree.
Mobil Oil Australia Ltd v Lyndel Nominees Pty Ltd (1998) 81 FCR 475
- A unilateral offer may be revoked even if the offeree has commenced performance.
- Even if the offeror has impliedly promised not to revoke, the revocation could still be effective, though the offeror will b liable in damages.
Stevenson, Jaques & Co v McLean (1880) 5 QBD 346
An enquiry for information does not amount to a rejection of the offer or a counter-offer.
Hillas v Arcos Ltd (1932) 147 LT 503
The standard of reasonableness may be called in aid of contract interpretation.
Where an agreement has been partly performed the courts are particularly reluctant to hold it void for uncertainty.
Whitlock v Brew (1968) 118 CLR 445
Where a clause is uncertain and inseverable, the whole contract will be unenforceable (void).
Coal Cliff Collieries Pty Ltd v Sijehama Pty Ltd (1991) 24 NSWLR
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An agreement to negotiate in good faith may be enforceable depending on its terms and construction, though in many cases a successful plaintiff will generally only recover nominal damages.
Meehan v Jones (1982) 149 CLR 571
Where a contract contains a clause stating that the contract is ‘subject to finance’, the contract will be valid.
Coulls v Bagot’s Executor & Trustee Co Ltd (1967) 119 CLR 460
Where a promise is made to joint promisees, either promisee can enforce the contract even if consideration only moved from one.
Chappell & Co Ltd v Nestle & Co Ltd [1960] AC 87Term
‘A contracting party can stipulate for what consideration he chooses
Re Casey’s Patents [1892] 1 Ch 104
Where there is an implied promise to pay for services rendered, the promise will be binding.
