Sometimes referred to
as 'if contracts'
Facts: D's placed advertisement,
promised to pay £100 to anone Exception to the
The promisee gives no who caught influenza after using general rule where
Where one party commitment to perform smoke ball for a specified time. the contract is
Facts: D instructed handbills printed unilateral CA treated dep
(promisor) binds himself the act but is left free to They said they put £1,000 into
offering £25 reward to any person who of money as
upon performance of a choose whether to bank account to show sincerity.
cave info leading to conviction for a indication o
stated act by the promisee perform or not Pl caught influenza.
particular crime, to Police Supt Penn. Pl, a willingness to
police officer had communicated info to legally boun
colleague, X, with instructions to forward
to Penn. X passed info to his superior, who Held: Unilateral contract,
then passed it to Penn. Info reached Penn advertisement constituted an No notification
What is a unilateral
on 30th May, after the time the handbills offer since it requested acceptance requ
contract? performance of an act as the as acceptance
were distributed to police stations
acceptance, not a 'mere puff' performance o
requested act
Carlil v Carbolic
Gibbons and Smoke Ball Co
Proctor Facts: D offered a reward to
any person giving info leading
to discovery of murderer. Pl
Williams v severely beaten by Williams,
Held: Pl entitled to the believing she had not long to
Unilateral contracts Carwardine
reward, X and his superior live, gave information which
Terms of offer required were pl's agents for
supplying info to Penn. led to William's conviction
purposes of conveying the
Acceptance was the supply information
of info to Penn, and at that R v Clarke
time PL knew a reward had Held: motive in supplying the
been offered info (accepting offer) was not
relevant - she has acted on the
Held: He wasn't offer and was aware of the offer
Acceptance must performing that act on - PL won
reliance upon the
be in response to
offer, he had forgotten
the offer the offer on
performance of the act
Facts: reward offered for
Compare with
Requested act must be Academic info leading to the arrest
WIlliams
carried out in response commentary of the persons who
to the offer of a reward murdered 2 police
so that there can be no officers, Clarke gave this
Clarke established that
acceptance where info after he had been Williams knew acted
knowledge of the offer is
there was no arrested for this crime on the offer and so
Hudson argues that on important as it constitutes
knowledge of the offer consent of parties was entitled to claim
the grounds of policy the
the reward
law should encourage
rather than penalise
people who do not know Consent is vital, without
about a reward and who it there is no contract
act under a sense of
moral duty
There cannot be assent
without knowledge of
the offer
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