ASSIGNMENT 1 SEMESTER 2 2025
UNIQUE NO.
DUE DATE: 26 AUGUST 2025
, Law of Contract
LEGAL OPINION
To: Shane
Re: Validity of the Contract of Sale – Prescribed Mode of Acceptance
You have requested legal advice concerning whether a valid contract of sale was
concluded between yourself and Porsche Johannesburg, given the dealership’s claim
that the contract is void due to non-compliance with the prescribed mode of acceptance,
specifically that the seller's authorised representative did not sign the contract.
Legal Issue
The legal issue to determine is whether the absence of the seller's authorised signature
on the contract document – which contained a designated space for such a signature –
means that the prescribed mode of acceptance was not complied with, and whether
this non-compliance results in no valid contract being formed.
Legal Principles
In South African contract law, where a specific mode of acceptance is prescribed by
the offeror (or evident from the context or terms of the contract), strict compliance with
that mode is generally required for a valid acceptance (see Van Rensburg v Nelson
Mandela Metropolitan Municipality 2008 (2) SA 8 (SE)). However, courts will also
consider the intention of the parties, the conduct of the parties, and whether the
mode of acceptance was truly intended to be exclusive and mandatory (Hutchison &
Pretorius: Law of Contract in South Africa).
Where a contract indicates a signature space for both parties, this may suggest that
both signatures are necessary for acceptance. However, this is not conclusive unless
the contract expressly states that signature by the offeree (in this case, the seller) is
the only valid mode of acceptance (see Goldblatt v Fremantle 1920 AD 123).