WS1 Agreement & Contractual Intentions
Offer
- Offer defined by Prof Treital as ‘an expression of willingness to contract on certain terms, made with
... [Show More] the intention
that it shall become binding as soon as it is accepted’.
- Smith v Hughes: Courts use primarily objective test to decide if agreement has been made, considering what a
reasonable person would have thought.
- Allied Marine Transport v The Leonidas: while test is primarily objective as to offeror’s conduct, court ruled that the
offeree must believe that the offeror actually intended to make an offer (subjective).
Invitation to Treat
- A preliminary statement which invites negotiation.
- Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain v Boots Cash Chemists and Fisher v Bell: Goods on display in supermarkets
and self-service shops are regarded as invitations to treat, not offers. Customer offers to buy the goods when he
presents them at the payment point.
- Partridge v Crittenden: Adverts are generally considered invitations to treat
- Williams v Carwadine: Adverts involving a reward are offers, as there is an intention to be bound by the reward as
soon as the information is given
- Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball: Advertisements constitute an offer to the world if there is a clear intention to be bound
- Requests for tenders are usually invitations to treat but there are exceptions to this.
- Harvela Investments Ltd v Royal Trust Company of Canada Ltd: parties invited to tender (i.e. put in offers) for shares
and were promised that the highest bid/offer would be accepted. This was held to be an offer of unilateral contract to
sell to highest bidder.
- Blackpool & Fylde Aero Club v Blackpool Borough Council: council had impliedly promised to consider all tenders,
creating a unilateral contract
Bilateral Contract
- arises when one party makes a promise in return for a promise from the other party
Unilateral Contract
- Promise in return for an act and is one sided, eg. an offer of a reward (Williams v Cawardine) and ‘without reserve [Show Less]