Contract law Formation of a contract: offer, acceptance (words or conduct), consideration (executory or executed) Currie v Misa, and intention. Invitation to treat - parties wish to open negotiations, not an offer. Fisher v Bell. Limited stock argument - if offeror is not the manufacturer of the good or service, it would not make sense to interpret the advert as an offer as the good can not meet the demand of everyone. Partridge v Crittenden. Bilateral- proposal and acceptance of terms Unilateral- offer to the world. if a party A promises something if the party B does what is asked. If they do so, there is a contract Counter offer- if party A rejects terms given by party B and B makes new terms it is a counter offer and the original terms are abolished. Hyde v Wrench. Battle of the forms- courts determine if there was an offer and what the terms were through the traditional approach (Butler Machine Tool Co v Ex-Cell-O Corporation) or subsequent development ( RTS Flexible Systems v Molkerei) Method of acceptance- direct communication or conduct (Brogden v Metropolitan Railway), acceptance by silence (Felthouse v Bindley) Termination of offer- lapse of time, revocation, rejection, subsequent offer Freedom of a contract: Based on the exchange of promises whereby public or private bodies can form their own terms and conditions of a contract without the permission of the court or law. This developed during the post industrial revolution as too much interference from the government would hinder businesses and the economy. Property rights (right in rem) - attach the person to the thing Personal rights (rights in personam) - attach the people to each other but can involve a subject to obligation Meeting of the minds (consensus ad idem) - a mutual agreement of the contractual rights. When analysing contractual agreements, the courts can either look at it from the perspective of the promisee, the promiser, or from a neutral perspective without any knowledge (objective) (Arnold v Britton) Expectations (subjective perspective)- mistake or misrepresentation Consumer welfarist- focuses on the contract between the consumer and commercial, aims to protect the weaker party from contract abuse EG Consumer Rights Act 2015 Communication in contracts - courts must look at the point where the acceptance was made as due to technology in today's society, contracts can be formed between parties in different countries. (Entores v Miles Far East Corporation) Lord Denning - acceptance takes place when it is received, not when it was sent. Acceptance is effective when it is reasonably have expected to be read in the normal cause of events. Mondial Shipping v Astate Shipping.
If the terms of a contract is changed, it is only binding if the promisee is getting something they were already entitled to (practical benefit). Williams v Roffey Bros. Part payment of debt - Foakes v Beer, the rule of part payment of debt cannot be satisfactory for full amount. Pinnel's Rule Case, Penny v Cole: part payment of debt paid on the