Lecture notes
Class notes Contract Law Contract Law, ISBN: 9781352012064
Contract law first class notes
[Show more]
Connected book
Book Title:
Author(s):
- Edition:
- ISBN:
- Edition:
Content preview
lOMoAR cPSD| 3999081, lOMoAR cPSD| 3999081
CONTRACT LAW REVISION NOTES:
THE AGREEMENT
o contract =
o actionable promises
o Involves at least 2 parties - promisor + promisee
o Involves outward expression of common intention + expectation as to the
assurance in the promise
OFFER + ACCEPTANCE
o Need to establish that both offer + acceptance have been definitely concluded
Unilateral offer:
o Offer of promise for an act: when A offers reward for B doing certain thing, which
being done, promisor is bound to make good the promisee.
e.g. B returns (knowing of offer) dog to A, who offered £25 reward o t
anyone who could bring dog home safely. Act is done = A is bound to
pay.
Here, it is the performance on one side which makes the promise
obligatory on the other.
Outstanding obligation is all on one side.
Bilateral offer:
o Offer of a promise for a promise - When B accepts A's offer by doing promise, the
contract consists of an outstanding obligation of both sides - so A has obligation too.
e.g. C promises to pay D £10, if D promises to do gardening within a
certain time. Both sides accepting they are to be bound to promises.
Here, each party is obliged to some act or forbearance.
Outstanding obligation on both sides.
Promises in deeds:
o exceptional situation where it's clear a contract can come into existence without
'offer and acceptance'
e.g. wealthy person, by his deed, promises to pay a school £100,000
Promise = binding, no need for an acceptance or even knowledge of
promisee.
LAST HACKER 2
, lOMoAR cPSD| 3999081
Inferences from conduct:
o Agreement may be inferred from conduct alone - aside from verbal or written
communication.
o Acceptance need be inferred from context of situation.
e.g. person boarding bus undertakes to pay fare, even though no
express promise is made
e.g. B putting coin into machine, here B (supplier) has entered contract
with customer - even though 0 words exchanged.
o BUT - when more than 2 parties involved, not always definite O + A.
o e.g. Clarke v Earl of Dunraven - 2 yacht owners entered in club regatta, rules
of regatta stipulated competitors make good any damage caused by fouling.
o D fouled and sank V boat.
o Held: although immediate relationship between boat owners and club, it was
held a contract existed between C and D + the clamant could recover
damages.
Test of intention:
o Objective test
o thus a person may be held to have made an offer without appreciating one was being
made.
o Same objective test to acceptance - although offeree intentions are taken into
consideration.
THE OFFER
o Willingness to enter into a legally binding contract + in its terms expressly or
impliedly indicated that it is to become binding on offeror as soon as it has been
accepted.
Offers and Invitations to Treat:
o Offer = An invitation communicated by one party to another to enter into a legally
binding contract on certain specified terms = capable of acceptance
o Invitation to treat = An invitation to enter into negotiations (not binding) with a view
to creating an offer = mere invitation to offers
o Statement of Fact = Cannot constitute as offer, merely supplying information,
therefore no acceptance can occur + t/f no valid contract created.
E.g. 1. Harvey v Facey - Stating 'lowest price' does not constitute an
offer
LAST HACKER 3
, lOMoAR cPSD| 3999081
o E.g. 2. Gibson v Manchester City Council - stating "we may be prepared to sell"
equates to an invitation NOT offer to sell.
Advertisements:
o Generally - adverts in newspapers that the advertiser has goods for sale are not
offers.
o Nor are catalogues or price lists.
o Prevents advertisers from being obliged to sell to every person who accepted such
'offer'
o A display of goods marked at certain price by a shopkeeper in shop window does not
bind the shopkeeper to sell at that price or at all.
o = merely invitation to treat.
o It is for customer to offer to buy the goods
e.g. Fisher v Bell = Display of an article with a price on it in a shop window
was only an invitation to treat and not an offer - display of illegal flick knife.
Displays of goods for sale:
o Displays of shelves in self-service shops: Invitations to treat.
o Where goods are sold on a self-service basis, the customer makes an offer to buy
when presenting the goods at the cash desk - shopkeeper may accept or reject offer.
o Display cannot be offer - otherwise moment item placed in basket, would be seen as
accepting offer + customer wouldn't be able to change mind.
e.g. Pharmaceutical Society v Boots Cash Chemists
o Self-service shelf display of medicine was an advertisement for
bilateral contract.
o t/f merely invitation to treat
o The offer was made by customer when they placed goods at cash desk
+ offer was accepted by the shop at cash desk
o t/f displaying of goods is not offer.
However, ...
o Where display clearly states that the goods will be sold to a person who pays the
required price - likely to be held as offer.
o e.g. Notice stating " we will beat any Wifi price by £20 on spot" = continuing offer +
t/f liable.
LAST HACKER 4
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller lasthacker. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for £7.49. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
53068 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy revision notes and other study material for 14 years now