AGREEMENT If you are told on the facts of the problem that there has been an agreement then just

state there is one and move on. Only explore if there is some uncertainty OFFER a clear statement of the terms by which the person making the offer is prepared to be bound A mere puff: a non-promissory statement which may be used as advertisement to induce another to enter into contract. Exaggerated statements a reasonable wouldnt hold to be true An invitation to treat: not an offer but an invitation to other parties to make an offer. A person who responds to an invitation to treat is in fact making the offer which may then be accepted or rejected, eg goods in catalogue, auctioneers request for bids, announcements inviting tenders etc Grainger v Gough Standing Offers: Offers to provide goods or services when required. These offers are accepted each time an order is placed. Can be revoked at any time prior to acceptance Great Northern Railway Co v Witham; Colonial Ammunition Co v Reid Communication: An offer becomes effective once it is communicated to the offeree or his or her agent Cole v Cottingham eg if a reward is offered but unaware of reward cannot claim later when hearing of the reward R v Clarke TERMINATION OF AN OFFER: An offer may be terminated at any time before it has been accepted, but once an offer has been accepted then it cannot be revoked Great Northern Railway Co v Witham Revocation: the formal withdrawal of an offer by the offeror, can only occur prior to acceptance. Revocation will only be effective once it is communicated to, and received by, the offeree Byrne v Tienhoven Revocation by a reliable third party may be sufficient Dickingson v Dodds If consideration has been given to keep the offer open for a period of time offer may be revoked until the expiration of that time Goldsborough Mort v Quinn. If acceptance if the performance of an act then once that act has begun the offer cannot be revoked Abbott v Lance Rejection: Once an offer is rejected by an offeree it cannot later be accepted Where a person purports to accept an offer but introduces new terms the offer is rejected and a new offer is made which can then be accepted or rejected by the other party (counter offer) Hyde v Wrench unless the new condition is minor or of a trivial nature Turner Kempson and Co Pty Ltd v Camm

 The rejection is effective once communicated to the offeror. If a party intends to accept the offer but changes their mind they may be able to reject the offer if it is prior to the communication of the acceptance Lapse of Time: An offeror may stipulate their offer must be accepted within a period of time, and of the offeree fails to accept the offer is said to lapse If there is no time prescribed, the offer may be accepted in a reasonable amount of time Ramsgate Victoria Hotel v Montefiore Conditional Offers: An offer may be made conditional on the happening of a certain event. If a condition on which the offer is made is not fulfilled then the offer lapses McCaul (Aust) Pty Ltd v Pitt Club Ltd Death: If an offeror dies then it is still possible for the offeree to accept the ofer thus binding the deceaseds estate. An offeree cannot accept an offer after hearing of the death of the offeror Coultart v Clementson If Offeree dies then the offer more than likely lapses Reynolds v Atherton assistant ACCEPTANCE Acceptance is the expression, either in words or conduct, of assent to the terms of the offer. In a unilateral agreement the acceptance is taken as the first person who accepts or performs the act Robinson v MEwan Communication: An acceptance has no effect until it is communicated to the offeror Byrne and Co v Leon Van Tienhoven and Co Acceptance must be communicated by the offeree or their agent Dickinson v Dodds. Silence does not constitute an acceptance Felthouse v Bently Postal Acceptance Rule: Must be in comtemplation of parties that the post will be used as the form of response. Acceptance is effective at the time of posting not at the time of receiving Adams v Lindsell Revocation: It is possible to revoke acceptance as long as the revocation is communicated to the offeror before the acceptance is communicated Entores Ltd v Miles Far East Corporation CERTAINTY If a contract is to vague or uses uncertain terms then the contract may be deemed void Whitock v Brew. However the courts endeavour to make contracts valid where they can Hilas and Co v Arcos Ltd Meningless terms: A contract which contains meaningless term may be unenforceable unless the contract could stand on it own Fitsgerald v Masters WHERE A CONTRACT IS SUBJECT TO Subject to finance

Subject to Formal Agreement Where a contract is made subject to contract there are three categories of interpretation as set out in Masters v Cameron 1. Where the parties have reached finality in their negotiations and intend to be bound immediately but propose to restate the terms in a more formalised manner 2. Where parties have completely agreed but have made performance of one of the terms conditional upon execution of a formal document 3. where the parties do not intend to be bound unless and until a formal document is entered into Only in the first and second categories will the parties be immediately bound by their agreement whether the formal document comes into existence or not Masters v Cameron In the third case the terms of the agreement are not intended to be binding and therefore are not Go off the facts of the case to determine their intentions as evidenced by their actions. Next explore whether or not the contract is enforceable eg if it is a contract for the sale of land