• Counter-offer – Hyde v Wrench (1840) 3 Beav 334

• Contrast with a request for information which does not terminate an offer, see: Stevenson, Jacques & Co. v McLean (1880) 5 QBD 346

• Lapse of time – An offer will cease to exist if not accepted within a specified time limit, other wise it will lapse within a ‘reasonable’ time – Ramsgate Hotel Co. Ltd v Montefiore (1866) LR 1 Ex 109

• Revocation

Standard terms and counter-offers: battle of the forms.

Many businesses use their own standard terms when contracting. This can lead to what is called the ‘battle of the forms’. Butler Machine Tool Co. Ltd. v Ex-Cell-O Corporation (England) Ltd. [1979] 1 WLR 401 (CA).

Butler Machine Tool Co. Ltd. v Ex-Cell-O Corporation (England) Ltd. [1979] 1 WLR 401 (CA). Sellers send a quote based on their conditions (price variation clause). Buyers placed an order, their letter contained different conditions (fixed-price). Their letter contained a confirmation slip that was filled in and returned to the buyers.

Termination of an offer - Revocation (Withdrawal).

An offeror is free to revoke an offer at any time before acceptance, even if they have promised to keep the offer open for a specified period of time (unless a separate contract has been made), but revocation must be communicated to the offeree before it can become effective. However, the rules which are applied here differ depending on whether the offer was a unilateral offer or a bilateral offer.

Revocation of unilateral offers: key cases.

• Revocation must be given the ‘same notoriety’ as the offer - Shuey v United States 23 L Ed 697 (1875), 92 US 73 (US Supreme Court)

• Errington v Errington & Woods [1952] 1 KB 290 (CA)

• Daulia v Four Mill Bank Nominees Ltd. [1978] Ch 231 (CA)

• Soulsbury v Soulsbury [2008] 2 WLR 834 (CA)

• Luxor (Eastbourne) Ltd. v Cooper [1941] AC 108 (HL)

Additional ways an offer can be terminated.

• Death of an offeror:

  • Contract for personal services

  • Other contracts

• Non-occurrence of a condition

• The offeror making a new offer