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OFFER & INVITATION TO TREAT - Coggle Diagram
OFFER & INVITATION TO TREAT
elements of a contract
offer + acceptance = agreement
agreement + consideration + intention to be legally bound = binding contract
offer
a clear ambiguous
statement
of the
terms
upon which the offeror is prepared to contract, should the oferee decide to accept
types
Bilateral offer
offer made to a particular person
Unilateral Offer
offer made to the world at large
Carlil vs Cabolic Smoke Ball (1893)
anyone who used the product and caught the flu got £100
defendant claimed ad was not an offer- it was impossible to make an offer to the world at large
offer was accepted by the plaintiff- binding contract- pay £100
Unilateral Offer
Harvey vs Facey (1893)
'will you sell?'- plaintiff
lowest cash £900'- defendant
no intention to be bound
'we agree'- plaintiff
' dont' want to sell'- defendant
offeror must be prepared to be bound to the terms of the offer
Bob Bushell Ltd vs Luxel Varese SAS
how does it look?
Mr B attended trade fair on behalf of the plaintiff( Irish electrical goods company)
Mr A showed Mr B brochures for the commercial and domestic lines
Mr B said plaintiff would buy if they were the sole Irish dealer for those goods
Mr A gave the impression that would be the case- only intented to give exclusivity for the commercial range
HELD- objective bystander would think Mr A offered exclusivity for both ranges- that was the offer Mr B accepted
Wilson V Belfast Corporation (1921)
newspaper
reported the defendant would pay 1/2 salary of any employee enlisted in the British army
where was the offer made?
in this case it was an unauthorized newspaper report
plaintiff enlisted-> claimed 1/2 salary-> defendant refused to pay
Billings vs Arnotts (1945)
defendant posted a notice on company's premises- any employee to join the defence forces- 1/2 salary paid for the duration of the emergency
plaintiff joined- claimed salary- defendant refused to pay, argued it was a declaration of company policy
court said it was an offer
where was the offer made?
by the company on their premises
invitation to treat
an offer to receive offers
Fisher v Bell (1961)
shopkeeper displayed a flick knife with a sign 'Ejector flick knife 4 shilings'
shopkeeper was charged with criminal offence of offering a flick knife for sale
HELD- display of the knife was an invitation to treat not an offer to sell
ads, auctions, goods displayed in a shop window, applications for tenders
Pharmaceutical Society vs Boots Cash Chemists (1952)
poisons displayed on shelf in self-service pharmacy
could only be sold by licensed supervisor, there was one at every checkout
display of poisons was an invitation to treat, customers took poison to checkout was offer to buy, offer accepted by licensed pharmacists
Partridge v Crittenden (1968)
auctions
goods up for auction are an invitation to treat
bid = offer
each bid terminates the previous bid
fall of hammer = acceptance
offer is rejected when item is withdrawn from auction
if offer is advertised as being
'without reserve'
-> goods must be sold to the highest bidder
Tully v Irish land Commission (1961)
highest bidder fro a particular piece of land-> offer was low and auctioneer refused to sell
auction was advertised as without reserve-> damages were awarded to the plaintiff
Barry v Davies (2001)
application for tenders
Harvela v Royal Trust of Canada (1986)
Defendant 1-> wanted to sell shares by sealed competitive tender- sent an invitation to tender to Plaintiff 2 and defendant 2 '
highest received by us we bin ourselves to accept such offer'
plaintiff 1 bid $2.175 m
defendant 2 bid $2.1 m or $100,000 more than the highest offer(referential bid)
Defendant 1 accepted defendant 2
a clear bid had to be a fixed amount-> referential bid is not valid
exceptions to ad as only an invitation to treat
Lefkowitz vs Great Minneapolis Surplus Store (1957)
newspaper ad stating 3 fur coats would be sold for $1 each @ 9:00 Saturday on 'first come first serve' basis
'first come first serve' changes ad from invitation to treat to offer to sell at that price to the first customer to come into the shop
only wanted to sell to a woman-> plaintiff was a man
the
words
of an invitation to treat are very important
words of limitation
Lennard v Pepsico (1999)
TV ad - teenager arriving to school in a Harrier Jet, 'Harriet Jet 7,000,000 pepsi points'
buy pepsi points for 15c each-> sent off for his harrier jet
plaintiff said an offer has been made-> court decided the ad was not sufficiently definite-> no offer