law paper 3
Area
topic title
key sections
cases
subheading
Contract law
essential requirements of contract
an agreement (offer and acceptance)
consideration (including privity of contracg
intention to create legal relations
agreement
for an agreement (contract) to be made, there must be a valid OFFER followed by a valid
unconditional ACCEPTANCE of the offer
offer
, party making offer- offeror
party to whom offer is made- offeree
offeror will usually state verbally or in writing that they will be bound by terms of offer
following a valid acceptance & they have an intention to create legal relations
contract not formed until offeree accepts terms in the offer
invitation to treat
offer will lead to legally binding contract, wheras ITT in an invitation to make an offer & can
be seen as early stages of contractual negotiations
common example of ITT: items on display in shop window or advertisements
display of goods in shop window is ITT Fisher v Bell
advertisment is ITT - Partridge v Crittenden
some exceptions to rule in advertisements
if ad is made where reward will be paid then person making ad cannot rely on reward
being the ITT
instead law will treat as unilateral offer - Carlill
communication of offer
offeree cannot accept offer that has not been communicated to them - taylor v laird
termination of an offer
1. counter offer
if offeree decided they would like to change terms of offer - this is counter offer
counter offer ends original offer & becomes an offer, making offeree the offeror
counter offer can be accepted or rejected by person making original offer - hyde v wrench
,2. death of offeror or offeree
3. lapse of time
length of time between offer and acceptance was extreme & had lapsed after reasonable
amount of time - Ramsgate
4. revocation
offer can be revoked (withdrawn) at any time before acceptance- dickson v dodds
acceptance
offer must be accepted by offeree
must have authority to accept offer - Powell v Lee
acceptance must be communicated back to offeror
acceptance must:
mirror the offer & be certain - Sudbrook v Eggleton
not change terms of offer
be communicated properly back to offeror
acceptance must be unconditional
acceptance must be unconditional - Hyde v Wrench
making enquiries about offer many not amount to counter offer, may not be seen as
rejecting original offer - Stevenson v McLean
communication of acceptance
contract can only be formed if acceptance is communicated back to offeror, only offeree
can accept
silence does not amount to an acceptance - felthouse
, if specific method of acceptance is specified, acceptance must be made in that way to be
valid
usually offer accepted through conduct - Yates v Pulleyn
postal rule
acceptance is valid and contract is formed when acceptance is posted and not when its
recieved - adams v lindsell
with developments in communication, this only applies when it is agreed upon or it is the
normal manner that offeror conducts their business
excluding rule in terms of contract then postal rule will not suffice
electronic methods of acceptance
acceptance must arrive and be recieved, only valid once communicated - Entores v Miles
out of hours messages only effective once opened - Brinkbon
consideration
consideration is the price offere pays for goods or service
its securing of an offer, proof that agreement exists
curie v misra defined consideration as benefit and detriment - both parties must recieve
benefit and suffer detriment
definition adapted by Dunolp v Selfridge as exchange of promises
rules of consideration
1. consideration must be sufficient
Area
topic title
key sections
cases
subheading
Contract law
essential requirements of contract
an agreement (offer and acceptance)
consideration (including privity of contracg
intention to create legal relations
agreement
for an agreement (contract) to be made, there must be a valid OFFER followed by a valid
unconditional ACCEPTANCE of the offer
offer
, party making offer- offeror
party to whom offer is made- offeree
offeror will usually state verbally or in writing that they will be bound by terms of offer
following a valid acceptance & they have an intention to create legal relations
contract not formed until offeree accepts terms in the offer
invitation to treat
offer will lead to legally binding contract, wheras ITT in an invitation to make an offer & can
be seen as early stages of contractual negotiations
common example of ITT: items on display in shop window or advertisements
display of goods in shop window is ITT Fisher v Bell
advertisment is ITT - Partridge v Crittenden
some exceptions to rule in advertisements
if ad is made where reward will be paid then person making ad cannot rely on reward
being the ITT
instead law will treat as unilateral offer - Carlill
communication of offer
offeree cannot accept offer that has not been communicated to them - taylor v laird
termination of an offer
1. counter offer
if offeree decided they would like to change terms of offer - this is counter offer
counter offer ends original offer & becomes an offer, making offeree the offeror
counter offer can be accepted or rejected by person making original offer - hyde v wrench
,2. death of offeror or offeree
3. lapse of time
length of time between offer and acceptance was extreme & had lapsed after reasonable
amount of time - Ramsgate
4. revocation
offer can be revoked (withdrawn) at any time before acceptance- dickson v dodds
acceptance
offer must be accepted by offeree
must have authority to accept offer - Powell v Lee
acceptance must be communicated back to offeror
acceptance must:
mirror the offer & be certain - Sudbrook v Eggleton
not change terms of offer
be communicated properly back to offeror
acceptance must be unconditional
acceptance must be unconditional - Hyde v Wrench
making enquiries about offer many not amount to counter offer, may not be seen as
rejecting original offer - Stevenson v McLean
communication of acceptance
contract can only be formed if acceptance is communicated back to offeror, only offeree
can accept
silence does not amount to an acceptance - felthouse
, if specific method of acceptance is specified, acceptance must be made in that way to be
valid
usually offer accepted through conduct - Yates v Pulleyn
postal rule
acceptance is valid and contract is formed when acceptance is posted and not when its
recieved - adams v lindsell
with developments in communication, this only applies when it is agreed upon or it is the
normal manner that offeror conducts their business
excluding rule in terms of contract then postal rule will not suffice
electronic methods of acceptance
acceptance must arrive and be recieved, only valid once communicated - Entores v Miles
out of hours messages only effective once opened - Brinkbon
consideration
consideration is the price offere pays for goods or service
its securing of an offer, proof that agreement exists
curie v misra defined consideration as benefit and detriment - both parties must recieve
benefit and suffer detriment
definition adapted by Dunolp v Selfridge as exchange of promises
rules of consideration
1. consideration must be sufficient
