Mr Gibson sought to buy his council house after the council wrote it 'may be prepared to sell' it to him. He applied, but the council halted the sale. The House of Lords held the letter was an invitation to treat, not a binding offer. Facts In 1970, Manchester City Council, then controlled by the Conservative Party, adopted a policy of selling council houses to their tenants. Mr Robert Gibson, a tenant, applied for details of his house price and mortgage terms. The city treasurer responded in a letter dated 10th February 1971, stating that the council ‘may be prepared
A customer signed a hire-purchase offer for a car, but returned it to the dealer before the finance company accepted. The car was then stolen and damaged. The court held no contract existed as the offer was revoked or, alternatively, was subject to an implied condition that the car remain in the same state. Facts On 16th March 1961, the defendant, Mr Stimson, wished to acquire a car on hire-purchase terms. He saw the car at the premises of a dealer, Stanmore Motor Co. He signed a hire-purchase agreement form provided by the dealer. This form, which was an agreement
An English company sent an offer by telex to Holland; the acceptance was telexed back to London. The court held that for instantaneous communications, a contract is formed where and when acceptance is received, establishing London as the place of contract. Facts The plaintiffs, Entores Ltd., were an English company based in London. The defendants, Miles Far East Corporation, were an American corporation with agents in Amsterdam, Holland. The plaintiffs in London made an offer by Telex to the defendants’ agents in Amsterdam for the purchase of a quantity of copper cathodes. The defendants’ agents in Amsterdam sent a Telex
Dodds offered to sell property to Dickinson, with the offer open until Friday. Before accepting, Dickinson learned from a third party that Dodds had sold to another. The court held this indirect communication was a valid revocation of the original offer. Facts On Wednesday, 10th June 1874, the Defendant, John Dodds, signed and delivered to the Plaintiff, George Dickinson, a memorandum offering to sell a property for £800. The offer included a postscript stating: “This offer to be left over until Friday, 9 o’clock, a.m. J.D. (the 12th of June).” On Thursday afternoon, the Plaintiff was informed by a third
In a commercial 'battle of the forms', a buyer's purchase order was met by the seller's acknowledgement containing different terms. The Court of Appeal upheld the traditional 'last shot' doctrine, finding the contract was concluded on the seller's terms, prioritising certainty. Facts Tekdata Interconnections Ltd (the buyer) manufactured engine control systems for Rolls-Royce and purchased connectors from Amphenol Ltd (the seller). The parties had a long-standing commercial relationship. The process involved Tekdata submitting a purchase order which stated that the contract would be on its own terms and conditions. In response, Amphenol would send an acknowledgement which stated that the
A man hired a deckchair and received a ticket containing an exclusion clause after payment. The chair collapsed, causing injury. The court held the ticket was a mere receipt, not a contractual document, so the clause was not part of the contract. Facts The plaintiff, Mr Chapelton, hired two deckchairs from the defendants, Barry Urban District Council, at a beach. A notice beside the chairs stated the price and advised hirers to obtain a ticket. Mr Chapelton paid for two chairs and received two tickets from an attendant. He did not read the tickets. On the back of the ticket
Defendants offered to sell goods by post, then posted a letter revoking the offer. Before receiving the revocation, the claimants accepted by telegram. The court held the revocation was only effective upon receipt, by which time a binding contract had formed. Facts The defendants, Leon Van Tienhoven & Co., were based in Cardiff. On 1 October, they posted a letter to the plaintiffs, Byrne & Co. in New York, offering to sell 1000 boxes of tinplates. On 8 October, the defendants posted a second letter revoking their offer. On 11 October, the plaintiffs received the initial offer letter and immediately
In a 'battle of the forms', a seller offered a machine tool with a price variation clause. The buyer replied with their own terms, lacking the clause. The seller returned the buyer's tear-off acknowledgement slip, which was deemed acceptance of the buyer's counter-offer. Facts On 23 May 1969, the sellers, Butler Machine Tool Co Ltd, offered to sell a machine tool to Ex-Cell-O Corporation for £75,535. The offer was made on Butler’s standard terms and conditions, which were printed on the reverse of the quotation. These terms included a price variation clause, allowing the price to be increased if there
Facts The defendant, Blackpool Borough Council, owned and managed Blackpool Airport. They invited the claimant, Blackpool and Fylde Aero Club, and six other parties to submit tenders for a concession to operate pleasure flights from the airport. The Aero Club had held the concession since 1975. The Council’s invitation to tender stated that tenders must be submitted in a provided envelope and that any tender received after the deadline of 12 noon on 17th March 1983 would not be considered. The invitation also included a clause stating, ‘The Council do not bind themselves to accept all or any part of
Facts The defendants, wool-dealers in St. Ives, sent a letter to the plaintiffs, who were woollen manufacturers in Bromsgrove, on 2 September 1817, offering to sell them a quantity of wool. The defendants required an answer ‘in course of post’. Critically, the defendants misdirected this letter to ‘Bromsgrove, Leicestershire’, instead of the correct address in Worcestershire. Consequently, the letter did not reach the plaintiffs until the evening of 5 September. Upon receipt, the plaintiffs immediately wrote a letter of acceptance, which they posted the same evening. This acceptance letter was delivered to the defendants on 9 September. However, not having
