Contract Law: Text, Cases, and Materials

ONTENTS

Preface V

Acknowledgements vi

Table of Cases xix

Table of Statutes xxxviii

Table of Statutory Instruments xli

Table of Treaties, Conventions, and European Legislation xlii

1 INTRODUCTION 1

1. The Aims of This Book 1

2. The Scope of the Law of Contract 4

3. Transactions 8

4. European Contract Law 9

5. Transnational Contract Law 13

6. Conflicting Policies 14

7. Further Reading 20

 

PART I FORMATION

 

2 agreement: objective OR SUBJECTIVE? 23

 

1. Central Issues 23

 

2. Introduction 23

 

3. The Objective Theory Illustrated 26

 

4. The ‘Snapping Up’ Cases 38

 

5. The Role of Fault 41

 

6. Further Reading 49

 

3 OFFER AND ACCEPTANCE 50

 

1. Central Issues 50

 

2. Introduction 50

 

(a) General Application 52

 

(b) The Intention of the Parties 56

 

(c) The Inter-related Nature of the Rules 57

 

(d) The Time at which the Contract was Created 57

 

(e) Offer and Acceptance and the ‘Will Theory’ of Contract 59

3. Has an Offer Been Made? 60

 

(a) Advertisements 63

 

(b) Displays of Goods for Sale in a Shop 70

 

(c) Tenders 78

 

(d) Auction Sales 85

 

4. What Constitutes an Acceptance? 90

 

(a) Must the Acceptance Coincide Exactly with the Terms of the Offer? 91

 

(b) Must the Acceptance be Communicated to the Offeror? 110

 

(c) Prescribed Method of Acceptance 114

 

(d) Can Silence Amount to Acceptance? 115

 

(e) The Postal Rule 118

 

(f) Acceptance in Unilateral Contracts 127

 

(g) Acceptance in Ignorance of an Offer 128

 

5. Has the Offer been Withdrawn or Otherwise Terminated? 130

 

6. Conclusion 136

 

7. Further Reading 137

 

4 UNCERTAIN AND INCOMPLETE AGREEMENTS 138

 

1. Central Issues _ 138

 

2. Introduction 138

 

3. Cases in Which it Has Been Held that the Agreement is Too Vague or

 

Uncertain to be Enforced 148

 

4. Cases in Which the Courts Have Held the Agreement to be Valid and

 

Binding 151

 

(a) Make Use of the Criteria or Machinery that Has Been Agreed by the Parties in Order to Resolve the Uncertainty or to Clarify the

 

Word or Phrase that is Expressed in Vague Terms 151

 

(b) The Intervention of Statute 157

 

(c) Severance 157

 

(d) Implication of Terms 158

 

5. Conclusion 159

 

6. Further Reading 160

 

5 CONSIDERATION AND PROMISSORY ESTOPPEL 161

 

1. Central Issues 161

 

2. Introduction 161

 

3. Consideration: Its Scope 163

 

(a) Consideration Must Be Sufficient 164

 

(b) The Pre-existing Duty Rule 174

(c) Past Consideration 221

 

(d) Consideration Must Move From the Promisee 230

 

(e) Establishing the Necessary Link 231

 

4. Estoppel: Its Scope 236

 

(a) Estoppel: A Brief Definition 236

 

(b) Two Leading Cases 238

 

(c) The Ingredients of Promissory Estoppel 243

 

(d) The Different Types of Estoppel 247

 

(e) Unifying the Estoppels 249

 

(f) Locating Estoppels 267

 

5. The Future of Consideration 272

 

6. Further Reading 278

 

6 FORMALITIES 280

 

1. Central Issues 280

 

2. Introduction 280

 

3. The Reasons for Formal Requirements 282

 

4. Formal Requirements in English Contract Law 284

 

(a) Formal Requirements Which are Sufficient to Render the Promise

 

Binding 284

 

(b) Formal Requirements Which are Necessary in Order to Render a

 

Contract Binding 285

 

5. The Future of Formal Requirements 293

 

6. Further Reading 294

 

7 INTENTION TO CREATE LEGAL RELATIONS 295

 

1. Central Issues 295

 

2. Introduction 295

 

3. Domestic Agreements 296

 

(a) The Scope of the Presumption 300

 

(b) Rebutting the Presumption 302

 

(c) The Rationale Behind the Presumption 304

 

(d) The Relationship With Consideration 305

 

4. Social Agreements 307

 

5. Commercial Agreements 309

 

(a) Rebuttal of the Presumption 311

 

(b) Did the Parties Intend to Contract? 313

 

6. The Future of the Doctrine of Intention to Create Legal Relations 314

 

7. Further Reading 316