Discuss about the Case Study The Issue Of Emma And Peter.
Through the analysis of the case study the issue which has been determined is whether Emma and Peter have entered into a valid contract before the car had been sold to Andy by peter in the light of contract law provisions in Ireland.
The law of contract is based on common law as well as statue law. According to the rules laid down by common law a contract will only be valid in the eyes of law when all elements of a valid contract are found to exist in it. The essential s of a valid contract is Ireland is similar to the essential of contract in any other country as these essentials are universal provisions. The basic elements of contract are offer, acceptance, consideration, capacity, Legality of objects and intention of creating a legal obligation. However in the light of the above discussed issue the all elements of contract do not need to be considered.
The only consideration which is required in relation the issue is of Offer and acceptance (meeting of minds)
A lawful contract can only be formed between the parties if an offer has been made in compliance of legal provisions. The definition of offer as provided by McKendrick (2014) is that it is a statement through which an expression is signified to the other person known the offeree (The specific person who has been addressed with the offer) to bind him to the conditions and warranties set out through the offer legally. It means that of any person does not abide by the terms after acceptance is made a legal right is provided to the aggrieved party to make a claim in court against the breach.
A few rules are in place to find out an offer complies with legal requirements or not. The first requirement is that the offer needs to be differentiated from an invitation to offer. An invitation to treat is an incomplete offer and thus evidently it does not have any legal significance. Whether an offer is an invitation of not depends upon a few elements which have been discussed in different cases in the courts of Ireland.
One of such cases is the case of Grainger & Son v Gough [1896] AC 325 HL. In this case the court had stated that an offer will be held as valid when it is has adequate details and definite. If such features are not present in an offer it is not a valid offer and subsequently a mere invitation. An advertisement was in the same way held to be an invitation to offer as it did not have sufficient details in the case of Norgren Co (CA) v Technomarketing 1983; (Ch D)
The element of acceptance comes to context subsequent to an offer. It is the assent which is provided by the offeree to accept that he will be legally liable if he does not act in accordance to the terms of the offer. In the same way of an offer, an acceptance also requires to comply with certain legal provisions to become a legally valid acceptance (Knapp, Crystal and Prince 2016).
An acceptance is only made when it has been communicated in a lawful manner to the offeror. These provisions had been discussed by the court in the case of Embourg Ltd v Tyler Group Ltd [1996] 3 IR 480. A contractual acceptance is only valid if it has been accepted legally and it would be only be legal when has been received by the offeror (Kötz 2017).
The above discussed rule are subjected to an exception which comes into the context when an acceptance has been sent by post. The exception is known as postal acceptance rule. The postal acceptance rule has originated from an English case Adams v Lindsell (1818) 1 B & Ald 681. The case created a new law to protect an offeree making acceptance through post from uncertainty of the postal system. Thus the judge stated that when a person has posted his acceptance the acceptance becomes legally valid and cannot be challenged based on the rule of physical communication (Poole 2016).
The rule of postal acceptance further has an exception that it is not applicable on electronic communication modes such as Fax, emails and text messages. The provisions had been made clear in the English case of Entores v Miles Far East Corp [1955] 2 QB 327. According to the case when acceptance is done by electronic mode of communication it becomes binding when it has entered the mail box or fax machine of the offeror. In the case of Tenax Steamship Co v Owners of the Motor Vessel Brimnes [1974] EWCA Civ 15 it had been ruled by the court that where acceptance is made by electronic means of communication to the office of the offeror it becomes effective when the official hours initiate (Hunter 2017).
Through Brennan v. Lockyer [1932] I.R. 100 the court stated that any acceptance which has not been totally in accordance to an offer is not a valid acceptance. The word totally signifies that no change at all can be made by the offeree to the terms of the offer for it to be valid at law. Further the rules in relation to a counter offer as used in the English case of Hyde v Wrench (1840) 49 ER 132 had been applied in Ireland in the case of Tansey v College of Occupational Therapists Ltd [1995] 2 ILRM 60. The case signifies that a counter offer makes the initial offer dead and it cannot be lawfully accepted anymore.
The provisions of an offer and a counter been further discussed in the legal system of the country through the case of Tinn v Hoffman (1873) 29 LT 271. The offeror made an offer to sell a specific amount of good to the offeree. The offeree is return stated that he will purchase the goods but not the same quality as offered by the offer. A claim was made by the offeree that he has formed a valid contract with the offeror. The court rejected the claim citing the rule of an unequivocal acceptance.
The principles of the Tinn v Hoffman case had been further applied in the case of Swan v Miller [1919]1 IR 15. The case also had the same factual situations as the Tinn v Hoffman case. In this case also the court ruled that once the offer ended by a counter offer it has been legally rejected which means that it no longer an offer at law.
Peter, had made an advertisement to sell his Range Rover car in a news paper as he was moving abroad. The question which needs to be addressed is that whether the newspaper advertisement is an offer or invitation to offer. As per the case of Grainger & Son v Gough this would be an invitation to offer. This is because of it is considered as an offer than peter would be legally bound to sell the car to everyone who makes an offer to purchase it. Emma coming across the advertisement made by Peter has made him an offer of $24500 through a phone call. However in reply to her offer peter stated “how about 24750”. Thus means that the statement is a counter offer as the price has been changed by peter.
After discussing the counter offer price provided by peter Emma tried to call him to let him know that she is willing to accept his offer. However as she was not able to contact him on his mobile she left a message to his answering machine at 7:30 pm. In the given situation as per the rule of the Tenax Steamship Co v Owners of the Motor Vessel Brimnes case acceptance of Emma would be valid only if the message successfully enters the answering machine of Peter and within office hours. Thus the acceptance would be valid next day at 9 AM as stated by the information in the news paper. However peter does not check the acceptance. In the given situation the rule which has been provided in the Entores v Miles Far East Corp case that whether or not the acceptance has been made does not depend on the actual receipt by the party but by the mere fact that it has entered the mailbox or phone of the offeor. Thus in the given situation it can be stated that a valid acceptance based upon the rule of acceptance has been made by Emma. Further as offer and acceptance were the only issues in this case a successful completion signifies that a valid contract has been formed between the parties.
However the vehicle has already been sold by Peter to a dedicated Car dealer named Andy who made an offer to purchase it at a price of 26000. In the given situation it can be stated that as a valid contract had been formed between Peter and Emma before the car was sold to Andy, Peter has breached the contract with Emma.
Conclusion
The contract in the given situation had been formed between Peter and Emma before the car had been sold to Andy.
References
Adams v Lindsell (1818) 1 B & Ald 681
Brennan v. Lockyer [1932] I.R. 100
Embourg Ltd v Tyler Group Ltd [1996] 3 IR 480.
Entores v Miles Far East Corp [1955] 2 QB 327
Grainger & Son v Gough [1896] AC 325 HL
Hunter, H., 2017. Modern Law of Contracts.
Hyde v Wrench (1840) 49 ER 132
Knapp, C.L., Crystal, N.M. and Prince, H.G., 2016. Problems in Contract Law: cases and materials. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business.
Kötz, H., 2017. European contract law. Oxford University Press.
McKendrick, E., 2014. Contract law: text, cases, and materials. Oxford University Press (UK).
Norgren Co (CA) v Technomarketing 1983; (Ch D)
Poole, J., 2016. Textbook on contract law. Oxford University Press.
Swan v Miller [1919]1 IR 15.
Tansey v College of Occupational Therapists Ltd [1995] 2 ILRM 60.
Tenax Steamship Co v Owners of the Motor Vessel Brimnes [1974] EWCA Civ 15
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