Offer:

Gibson v Manchester City Council [1979]

Facts: Manchester City Council (MCC) offered tenant (Gibson) the option of purchasing council home. Application form states the the MCC MAY be prepared to sell.  Gibson returned form, leaving price blank. There was a change of government and the new council refused to honour the contract.  

Issue: Whether the correspondance between the parties can be found a legally enforceable contract given that the forms used for communication were standard.

Judgement: There was no conditional offer and acceptance.  

Ratio:

Lord Diplock The wording of the Council's letter 'May be prepared to sell' was an invitation to treat and Gibson's replying was the offer, to which the Council never indicated acceptance. 

Offer: 

Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Company [1893]

Facts: Carbolic Company made a device which was claimed to prevent colds and influenza.  Company advertised that would pay 100 pounds to any person who contracted the flu after using product in accordance with instructions, also deposited 1,000 in bank.  Carlill used product and still became sick. Applied for 100 pound reward, Carbolic refused to pay.

Issue: Was the advertisment a 'mere puff' or was it an express promise by the company? And it the promise binding?

Judgment: There is an express promise which becomes binding when a consumer uses the product as directed.

Ratio: 

Lindley and Bowen: the offer is made to any person who happens to purchase the product and use it in the way directed by the company. It is not a mere puff because the offeror deposited 1,000 pounds which signifies the seriousness of the offer. There is no need for the consumer to notify the offeror of acceptance because the acceptance comes 'contemporaneously' with the performance of the offer.  Consideration is sufficient because the offeree is inconvenienced by the using the product and the offeror is advantaged by the purchasing.  

Offer: 

MacRobertson Miller Airline Services v Commissioner of State Taxation (WA) [1975]

Facts: A person wishing to take passage on MacRobertson Miller Airline would be advised on what flight seats were available.  The prospective consumer would select a flight and be handed a ticket in return for the cost of the fare.  At the time of the flight the passenger presented the ticket to secure his/her flight.  A condition on the ticket stated that the airline reserved the right to cancel any ticket or booking or abandon any flight, and that upon abandoment the ticket holder would be entitled to a refund of the cost of the fare that was cancelled but the airline would be under no obligation to to carry the passenger at a later date.  

Issue: Whether the ticket so issued was an 'agreement or any memorandum of agreement'.

Judgment: The issue of a ticket neither constitutes agreement nor a memorandum of agreement.

Ratio: 

Barwick: the exemption conferred by the clauses on ticket "fully occupy the whole area of possible obligation, leaving no room for the existence of a contract of carriage".  Similar to a unilateral contract, the passenger was making an offer and the airline accepted by conduct by carrying the passenger.  

Stephan: conventional analysis of ticket cases.  The ticket constitutes an offer by the airline which the passenger accepts or rejects once the passenger has reasonable time to read the conditions.  The ticket records the terms of the offer.  

Jacobs agreed with both.

Offers: distinguished from invitation to treat

Pharmacuetical Society of Great Britain v Boots Cash Chemists [1953] 

Facts: Boots operated a self-service shop, and in one part drugs were displayed, under the control of a qualified pharmacist.  Consumers would take a drug off the shelf and then proceed to the register where the final sale was transacted under the supervision of the pharmacist. The Pharmacuetical Society of Britain claimed that the taking of drugs off the shelf constituted a sale and thus contravened the Pharmacy and Poisons Act. 

Issue: Whether the taking of drugs off a shelf constituted a sale.  

Judgment: The act of placing an item in a basket does not constitute a sale (offer/acceptance.

Ratio:

Somervell: The contract is not completed until the customer, having indicated the items he/she wishes to purchase and the shopkeeper accepts the offer. The customer has a right to return and substitute one article for another even after placing the orginal item in a basket. 

Birkett:Agreed.

Offer: auction

AGC (Advances) Ltd v McWhirter [1977]

Facts: The McWhirters owned a piece of land with the mortgage held by AGC.  McWhirters defaulted on payments and AGC became liable as guarantors.  AGC put land for sale at $70,000. Reserve not met so removed. McWhirters offered $70,500. The auctioneer refused the offer because the promise to pay mortgage had been dishonoured. Accepted lesser bid of $70,000. McWhirter sued. 

Issue: When is a contract formed in the case of an auction?

Judgment: No contract exists.

Ratio: An auction is simply an invitation to treat and each bid is an offer which can be accepted/rejected by the auctioneer.