1500 word essay on Contract Law: Offer and Acceptance.?

Question

Coursework Question: Offer and Acceptance

Gaz a DJ, has advertised his CD collection in the local paper. The advert reads as follows:

“1,000 CDs for sale, £2,000 the lot. A wide variety of music, to suit all tastes and occasions. Change of business forces sale. Reply to me by the end of May.” A business telephone number and address was then given.

Ant saw the advert and posted a letter stating that he would take all of the CDs for the price stated. He also asked if she could collect the CDs in two weeks time. The letter was posted on Friday 26th May.

Louise telephoned on 29th May (Bank Holiday Monday), and left a voice mail on Gaz’s answer phone. This stated that she was accepting the offer of all of the CDs for the price given.

Donna sent a fax on Friday 26th May, which stated “I will take all of your CDs for £1,500.”

Advise the parties as to their legal positions. You will need to consider offer and acceptance (including the postal rule), but do not discuss consideration.

Answer 1

I suppose that you are in the UK.

I would disregard the answers here unless they identify themselves as knowledgable in British Common Law.
I just took my contracts final today in American Law, and we have the Uniform Commercial Code which changed a few things found in Common Law. For one, you don't need to have mutual assent to have a contract. You can have unilateral contracts, you can have promisory estoppel, you can have quantum mertuit etc. There is no mutuality here because the advertisement doesn't name a specific person. If it had said, "I will sell these CDs to the first person who replies" then the parties would be identifiable. I can name several American cases that refer to this example, but that wouldn't help you. I have an English Contracts case book from 1887, which belonged to my great great grandfather, but that won't help you either.

This question would best be handled on the American side with
HARVEY V. FACEY
The court held here that there must be a definite offeror and offeree for there to be a contract. This is applied to advertisements as well. An advertisement is generally held to be an invitation for an offer rather than an offer because it is not definite enough. If the ad had said, first person to call me gets it then it would be an offer because the offeree could be easily identified (LEFKOWITZ V. GREAT MINN. STORE)

In America, Gaz could sell his CDs to any of the ladies he chose, or he could reject their offers. Each of the ladies gave an offer with different terms: 2000 and pick up in 2 weeks, 2000 immediate pick up, 1500.

Like I wrote, however, this would be the American view. I could go on and on about how the UCC would apply, but this would be wasting your time.

In a hypothetical, you must analyze each person's position, and then put in your own facts. What if Gaz sold to one of the ladies, what could the others do? Which offers were valid? Look at the methods of acceptances, counter offers are rejections and an offer.

Because this is a sale of goods, you have to address the statute of frauds whether someone will be successful or not. (remember the acronym MY LEGS, it's the G part)

I'm killing myself now because I just realized that an option contract is binding under the mail box rule upon receipt. I got that one wrong arrrgh.

Ok I'm done with the law for at least a week, time to hit the pub and get smashed

Answer 2

Offer And Acceptance Essay

Answer 3

All contracts require mutual assent -- agreement to the same terms. Also sometimes called "meeting of the minds".

Mutual assent (agreeement) includes an offer and acceptance of the offer. And the two parties must agree to the same terms. This is called the Mirror Image rule in contract law. So, you need to go through the terms, and see if they are the same. If not, then you need to analyze for possible counter-offers.

The postal rule is also sometimes called the mailbox rule, and deals with when offers are sent and withdrawn, relative to when acceptances are sent or withdrawn.

Finally, remember to deal with the question of when advertisemetns constitute offers, and when they do not.

Good luck.

Answer 4

Do your own paper, you jagoff. If you can't get basic offer and acceptance down, you deserve to fail.