agreement
meeting of minds on the subject of the agreement
consensus ad idem
meeting of minds/agreement
what type of approach did the courts develop to test an agreement?
an objective approach
an agreement consists of:
an offer
acceptance
intention to create legal relations
butler machine tool v ex-cell-o corporation
the ‘last shot fired’ wins in a battle of the forms
what approach did lord denning mr suggest regarding the battle of the forms?
a more liberal approach looking at all circumstances to see if parties have objectively reached an agreement
invitation to treat
invitation for the other party to make an offer, which the former party is free to accept or reject
gibson v manchester city council
lord diplock: ‘may be prepared to sell’ sufficed as an invitation to treat
partridge v crittenden
advertisement: advertisment of a wild bramblefinch bird held not to be an offer
unilateral offer
one person makes a promise to the world in exchange for fulfilment of certain requirements
carlil v carbolic smoke ball
satisfying conditions for using the smokeball constituted acceptance of a unilateral offer
pharmaceutical society v boots
displays: display of a product on a shelf was not an offer; customer offered to buy the product by taking it to the till
fisher v bell
displays: display of flick knives was an invitation to treat
auction with reserve
each bid is an offer accepted by the auctioneer
auction without reserve
auctioneer makes a unilateral offer which is accepted by placing the highest bid
british car auctions v wright
the auction of a car was an invitation to treat
revocation
offeror may revoke an offer before acceptance takes place
dickinson v dodds
revocation: revocation of an offer can be communicated through a third party
byrne v van tienhoven
revocation: the postal rule is not applicable to a revocation of an offer
ways to terminate an offer:
revocation
rejection from offeree
lapse of time
counter offer
death or insanity
ramsgate victoria hotel v montefiore
lapse of an offer: a long period of time had passed between the offer and acceptance therefore the offer had lapsed
hyde v wrench
counter offer: a proposal of different terms by the offeree kills the original offer
bradbury v morgan
death or insanity: contracts cannot automatically be revoked by death alone and notice must be given to the offeree, except when there is a unilateral offer
importance of communication
acceptance must be communicated to the offeror
instantaneous communication
generally binding when it is received
entores v miles
postal rule does not apply to acceptance delivered by instantaneous communication
brinkibon v stahag stahl
where risk of non-delivery of acceptance lies with the offeror, he is bound even if it wasn’t received
non-instantaneous communication
postal rule applies
postal rule
when post is the agreed means of communication, a posted acceptance is binding from the moment of posting, so long as the letter is properly stamped/addressed
adams v lindsell
case authority to the postal rule
holwell securities v hughes
postal rule will not apply if expressly excluded in the offer
felthouse v bindley
silence cannot constitute acceptance even when the offeree has intention to accept
rust v abbey life
woman’s inaction over 7 months sufficient to establish acceptance of an investment policy taken out on her behalf
hyde v wrench
most counter offers are interpreted as rejections of the original offer
stevenson, jacques and co v mclean
a request for information is not a counter offer
tenders
request for tenders represents and invitation to treat and each tender submitted amounts to an offer
blackpool and fylde aero club v blackpool bc
an invitation to tender before a deadline can imply a unilateral contract to consider all timely bids
machines
machine represents the offer and acceptance is inserting the money
thornton v shoe lane parking
terms of a contract written on the back of the ticket is too late to be incorporated
scammell v ouston
vague agreements: buyer purchased lorry with price to be paid ‘on hire purchase terms’ and HoL held the agreement was uncertain, therefore the contract was void
may and butcher v the king
incomplete agreements: HoL held the agreement was incomplete; lacked price and payment schedule
an agreement to agree is…
unenforceable
domestic agreements
no presumption of intention to create legal relations
commercial agreements
presumption of intention to create legal relations
prima facie rules
first impression rules which can be reversed if appropriate
balfour v balfour
married at the time of agreement therefore no intent to create legal relations
meritt v meritt
presumption of no intent in domestic agreements is weaker when splitting property at the end of a relationship (divorce)
jones v padavatton
relationship between mother and daughter a purely domestic agreement
parker v clark
detrimental reliance by one party is sufficient to rebut the presumption in domestic agreements
radmacher v granatino
parties to increasingly common pre-nuptial agreements can be thought to intend legal relations
rose and frank v crompton bros
presumption of legal intent in a commercial agreement was displaced by an express statement of ‘binding in honour only’