Contract Law - Lecture 5 Acceptance What is acceptance? " A final and unqualified assent to all the terms of an offer. " The second stage of deciphering whether there has been an agreement. " Requires no particular formula - as long as it can seen as the final stage " Provides intention to be bound by the terms of an offer, which then becomes an agreement. Characteristics of Acceptance " Must be unequivocal, unconditional and it should match the offer (Mirror-image rule) " Mirror-image rule - acceptance mirroring terms of the offer " If conditions are attached then you will no longer be in acceptance " Must fit with an offer like 2 pieces of a jigsaw puzzle - if any part of jigsaw puzzle not fitting it will not be considered to be a valid acceptance " In a bilateral contract, acceptance must be communicated to the offeror. (people are usually exchanging promises and agreements between eachothertt " Must not introduce new terms - won't fit mirror-image or jigsaw puzzle o Hyde v Wrench (1840) 3 Beav 334- introduced principle of no new terms o Defendant offered to sell a farm to Plaintiff for £1,000. o Plaintiff offered to buy the farm for £900. o Defendant rejected that offer. o Plaintiff then wanted to accept the initial offer of £1,000 - willing original price o Defendant refused to go through with the transaction and Plaintiff sought specific performance - thought there was a contact, took it to court to get the defendant to sell him the property o Held -Plaintiff's offer of £900 was not an acceptance. It was a counter-offer (new termstt and his final communication was not an acceptance of the original offer but a further offer to buy at £1,000, which the defendant was at liberty to accept or reject. Counter-offer -different terms back and forth " During negotiations, parties may respond to an offer by suggesting different terms. " No acceptance until there is a definite final offer " Such a response is not valid as an acceptance because it does not match the offer-it will be a counter-offer. " Several offers and counter-offers may be put forward. " Law takes the view that A counter-offer is a rejection of an offer and destroys it, rendering it incapable of subsequent acceptance. " Only the last offer put forward survives and is available for acceptance. Request for Information " In certain situations, it might be difficult to determine whether a communication is a counter-offer or not.
" Example, Clare offers to sell her car to Jane. Jane calls her to accept and then inquires as to whether she would like the payment in cash or by cheque. " Such an inquiry is not a counter-offer because it is not suggesting or introducing new terms but simply clarifying the way the contract will be performed. " Stevenson, Jaques & Co v McLean (1880) 5 QBD 346- authority for request for information " Offeror made an offer