Contract law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Contract law - Essay Example Legal Status of the Advertisement The advertisement has been issued to public at large. Akono has given his email address and telephone number in the advertisement for this purpose. Generally, advertisements  are invitations to treat. In  Patridge v Crittenden [1968], Lord C. J. Parker said, ‘when one is dealing with advertisements and circulars, unless they indeed come from manufacturers, there is business sense in their being construed as invitations to treat and not offers for sale’. Also, consideration is an important constituent in a valid contract. The expression ‘willing to pay ?100 or more’ in the advertisement shows that the consideration is undetermined. In Harvey  and Anor v  Facey  and Ors  [1893], it was held that the mere statement of the lowest price at which the vendor would sell contains no implied contract to sell at that price to the persons making the inquiry. Similarly, in this case Akono is not bound to buy at any particular price. The advertisement is given with the intention to induce people to respond with their offers. Any response to the advertisement cannot be treated as an acceptance, though it is stated as ‘Please phone or email to accept’ in the advertisement. The advertisement is an invitation to offers in this case. ... In Hyde v Wrench (1840), it was held that the counteroffer rejected the offer previously made, and it was not competent afterwards to revive the original proposal. In this case, Akono states, ‘If you want to sell it to me, I need to receive your response on paper by the morning of Friday 5 October’, which is a counteroffer. This should be treated as rejection of the original offer. On Tuesday evening, Ju posts a letter to Akono, agreeing to take the ?100 for her Dumbledore costume. Her letter does not arrive until Saturday, 6 October. Akono did not receive any valid acceptance from Ju within the stipulated time. In Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co [1893],   L. J. Bowen said, ‘where a person in an offer made by him to another person, expressly or impliedly intimates a particular mode of acceptance as sufficient to make the bargain binding, it is only necessary for the other person to whom such offer is made to follow the indicated method of acceptance...’ I f the statement ‘I’ll only pay ? 100’ by Akono is treated as an offer, it is a conditional offer, the condition being receipt of Ju’s acceptance on paper by the morning of Friday, 5 October. It was held in Holwell Securities v Hughes [1974] that the words ‘notice in writing’ mean notice received by the offeror. Since the conditionality with regard to ‘acceptance on paper’ is not met by Ju, the acceptance is not valid. On Wednesday, 3 October, Akono posted a letter to Ju, stating that he no longer wanted her costume. The offeror can revoke his offer any time before its acceptance (Ramsgate Victoria Hotel Co v Montefiore 1866) and hence, this revocation is valid. Akono v Bob Ju gets her friend Bob to telephone on 4 October to ascertain the receipt of the letter posted by