Mgnrega: Critisicm
Mgnrega: Critisicm
Mgnrega: Critisicm
1
570 N.E.2d 27 (Ind. 1991).
further. A few hours later he was awoken by a knock at his door. He was
confronted by Sandy Medley, her father Ernest, her brother, brother-in-law, and
mother. Ernest had a revolver in a holster strapped to his thigh. Sandy called
him a “pervert” and her mother berated him. Ernest kept grabbing and shaking
the gun while still in the holster and threatening to “jump astraddle” of him if he
did not leave Sandy alone. Although no one ever touched Cullison, he feared he
was about to be shot because Ernest kept grabbing the gun as if to draw it from
the holster while threatening him. As a result of this incident, Cullison sought
psychological help to deal with nervousness, depression, sleeplessness, inability
to concentrate, and impotency. He sued the Medleys for assault, among other
torts. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of defendants on all
claims, the appeals court affirmed, and the Indiana Supreme Court reversed on
the assault count.
Issue: Whether threatening language coupled with a holstered pistol rises to the
level of assault.
Held: Yes, it was an assault. Assault occurs when one intentionally creates the
reasonable apprehension of imminent harmful or offensive contact in
another. It is a touching of the mind, if not the body, and as such, the damages
which are recoverable are for mental trauma and distress. It is assault to shake a
fist under another’s nose, to aim or strike at him with a weapon or to hold it in a
threatening position, or to surround him with a display of force. Additionally,
the apprehension must be one that would be aroused in the mind of a reasonable
person. In this case, a jury could reasonably conclude that the Medleys
intended to frighten Cullison by surrounding him in his trailer and verbally
threatening him with bodily harm while one of them was armed with a holstered
revolver. Accordingly, the Indiana Supreme Court reversed the summary
judgment on the assault count.
Bavisetti Venkat Surya Rao v. Nandipati Muthayya2: Plaintiff owed a
certain amount to the defendant which he was unable to pay. The defendant, in
order to collect the amount thought to visit plaintiff’s house and sell some
movables to recoup the amount. The defendant called a goldsmith to evaluate
the value of gold in the house of plaintiff, but the person standing at the time of
such evaluation near the house borrowed the amount from another to give it to
the defendant, and after the defendant had taken the amount, the plaintiff sued
him for assault.
It was held that since the defendants, after the arrival of the Goldsmith said
nothing and did nothing and the threat of use of force by the goldsmith to the
plaintiff was too remote a possibility to have put the plaintiff in fear of
immediate or instant violence, there was no assault.
Battery is the intentional and direct application of any physical force to the
person of another. It is the actual striking of another person, or touching him in
a rude, angry, revengeful, or insolent manner.
Garratt v. Dailey3
Facts: Five year old Brian Dailey (D) pulled a chair out from under Ruth Garratt
just as she was about to sit causing her to fall and break her hip. Garratt brought
suit for personal injuries and alleged that Dailey had acted deliberately. The trial
court entered judgment for Dailey and found that he had not intended to injure
Garratt. The court nevertheless made a finding of $11,000 in damages in case
the judgment was overturned on appeal. Dailey appealed.
Issues:
2
BVS Rao vs Nandipati Muthayya AIR 1964 AP 382
3
46 Wash. 2d 197, 279 P.2d 1091 (Wash. 1955).
1. In regards to the intentional tort of battery, is the element of intent satisfied if
the defendant knows with a substantial certainty that his act will result in a
harmful or offensive contact?
2. Can a five year old child be liable for an intentional tort?
Holding and Rule:
Elements of the Tort of Battery: Under the Restatement of Torts an actor who
commits a direct or indirect act which is the legal cause of a harmful contact
with another is liable if: 1) the act is done with the intention of bringing about a
harmful or offensive contact or an apprehension thereof to the other or a third
person, and 2) the contact is not consented to by the other or the other’s consent
thereto is procured by fraud or duress, and 3) the contact is not otherwise
privileged.
Talmage v. Smith4
Facts: Talmage and several other children were playing on the roofs of sheds on
Smith’s property. Smith ordered the children to get down and threw a stick at
one of the boys. The stick missed its intended target and struck Talmage in the
eye. Talmage lost all sight in the eye and sued for battery to recover for personal
injuries.
4
101 Mich. 370, 45 Am. St. Rep. 414, 59 N.W. 656 (Mich. 1894).
Evidence was offered showing that Smith threw the stick intending to frighten
(i.e. assault) but not hit a different boy. The trial court entered judgment for
Talmage and Smith appealed on the grounds that he did not have the intent to
hit Talmage and was therefore not liable for battery.
Issue: If an actor intends to inflict an intentional tort upon one party and
accidentally harms a second party, can the actor be held liable to the second
party for battery?
Holding and Rule: Yes. If an actor intends to inflict an intentional tort upon one
party and accidentally harms a second party, the actor can be held liable to the
second party for battery under the doctrine of transferred intent.
If an actor intends an act against a party and that act impacts upon another the
actor is liable for the injuries suffered. The fact that the injury resulted to a party
other than was intended does not relieve the defendant from responsibility.
Smith will not be relieved of liability because he intended to injure someone
else.
Disposition: Affirmed.
Transferred Intent: The transferred intent torts under common law are: assault,
battery, false imprisonment, trespass to land, and trespass to chattels. If an actor
has the intent to
Pratap Daji vs. B.B. & C.I. Ry5.: Here the plaintiff entered in a carriage of
defendant’s railway but had forgotten to purchase a ticket for his travel. On one
of the stops of the carriage, he tried to purchase the ticket but didn’t get any. At
another place, he was asked for the ticket which he didn’t have and therefore
was asked to get out of the carriage. He refused to do so. On his refusal, the
defendant used force to get him out of the carriage. He bought an action against
5
PratapDaji vs BB&CC railway 1875 1 Bom 52
the defendant for use of force. It was held that the defendant was not liable, as
he used force against the person who was not having a ticket and therefore was
a trespasser, and therefore he couldn’t be held liable.
eco
recession negative growth for two quarters
longterm recesio is depression
causes
wall street catsh of 1929 called balck Tuesday
US Federal Reserve that contracted the money supply, and Britain's decision to return to the Gold
Standard at pre-World War I parities
The consensus viewpoint is that there was a large-scale loss of confidence that led to a
sudden reduction in consumption and investment spending. Once panic and deflation set in,
many people believed they could make more money by keeping clear of the markets as prices
dropped lower and a given amount of money bought ever more goods, exacerbating the drop
in demand.
Second, there are the monetarists, who believe that the Great Depression started as an ordinary
recession, but that significant policy mistakes by monetary authorities (especially the Federal
Reserve), caused a shrinking of the money supply which greatly exacerbated the economic situation,
causing a recession to descend into the Great Depression\
Recovery
Pushing in money
Changing gold standard
Devaluation of currency
Political turmoil in Europe
Effects
50 percent banks failed
Lost confidence in capitalism
Avg income dropped
25 percent unemployment
Stock market lost 90 per value
contract
Offer(i.e. Proposal) [section 2(a)]:-When one person signifies to another his willingness to
do or to abstain from doing anything, with a view to obtaining the assent of that other person
either to such act or abstinence, he is said to make a proposal.
To form an agreement, there must be at least two elements – one offer and the other
acceptance. Thus offer is the foundation of any agreement.
Essential elements of an offer:-
(1) There must be two parties.
(2) The offer must be communicated to the offeree.
(3) The offer must show the willingness of offeror. Mere telling the plan is not offer.
(4) The offer must be made with a view to obtaining the assent of the offeree.
(5) A statement made jokingly does not amount to an offer.
(6) An offer may involve a positive act or abstinence by the offeree.
(7) Mere expression of willingness does not constitute an offer.
Example: Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Company [1893]6
Facts:
In this case the plaintiff bought a medical preparation called ‘The Carbolic Smoke Ball’ on
the basis that the defendants advertised that they would pay £100 to any person who
contracted influenza after using the smoke ball in the prescribed manner and for a specified
period. Further, the defendants stated that ‘to show their sincerity’ they had deposited£
1,000 with the Alliance Bank. The plaintiff bought one of the smoke balls and used it in the
6
Simpson, A. W. B. (1985). "Quackery and Contract Law: The Case of the Carbolic Smoke Ball". Journal of Legal
Studies. 14 (2): 345–389. doi:10.1086/467776. JSTOR 724433.
manner prescribed and promptly caught influenza! She sued for the £100. The defendants
contended that there was no agreement between them and used considerable ingenuity in
promoting this contention. One of the defences used was that it was not possible to make
an offer to the whole world since this would enable the whole world to accept the offer,
which was clearly beyond the realms of commercial reality.
Held:
The Court of Appeal had no difficulty in rejecting this defence. Bowen LJ stated the position
very clearly as follows:
It was also said that the contract is made with the whole world – that is,
with everybody and you cannot contract with everybody. It is not a
contract made with all the world. There is the fallacy of the argument. It
is an offer made to all the world; and why should not an offer be made
to all the world which is to ripen into a contract with anybody who
comes forward and performs the condition? . . . Although the offer is
made to the world, the contract is made with that limited portion of the
public who come forward and perform the condition on the faith of the
advertisement.
The defendants also contended that the plaintiff had not accepted their offer and therefore
there was no consensus ad idem and thus no agreement. This defence, which was rejected,
exposes the fact that offers may arise in two forms, either bilateral or unilateral. A bilateral
offer arises where one party promises to do something in return for a promise made by the
offeree. Both parties are agreeing to do something in return for some reciprocal promise from
the other. An example of such an offer would be if A promises to sell their car in return for B
promising to pay £5,000. The vast majority of offers are of this type
KINDS OF OFFER
Express Implied Specific General Cross Counter Standing
offer offer offer offer offer offer Open and
Continuous
offer
I. Express offer -When the offeror expressly communication the offer the offer is said to be
an express offer the express communication of the offer may be made by Spoken word
orWritten word
II. Implied offer –when the offer is not communicate expressly. An offer may be implied
from:-
The conduct of the parties or the circumstances of the case
IV. General offer: -It means on offer which is made to the public in general.
• General offer can be accepted by anyone.
• If offeree fulfills the term and condition which is given in offer then offer is
accepted.
• Communication of acceptance is not necessary is case of general offer
Example
Company advertised that a reward of Rs.100 would be given to any person who would suffer
from influenza after using the medicine (Smoke balls) made by the company according to the
printed directions. One lady, Mrs, Carlill, purchased and used the medicine according to the
printed
Directions of the company but suffered from influenza, She filed a suit to recover the reward
of Rs.100. The court held that there was a contract as she had accepted a general offer by
using the medicine in the prescribed manner and as such as entitled to recover the reward
from the company.
Carlill v Carbilic Smoke Ball Co. 1893
V. Cross offer:- When two parties exchange identical offers in ignorance at the time of each
other’s offer the offer’s are called cross offer.Two cross offer does not conclude a contract.
Two offer are said to be cross offer if
1. They are made by the same parties to one another
2. Each offer made in ignorance of the offer made by the
3. The terms and conditions contained in both the offers’ are same.7
Example : A offers by a letter to sell 100 tons of steel at Rs.1,000 per ton. On the same day,
B also writes to A offering to buy 100 tons of steel at Rs.1,000 per ton. When does a contract
come into existence: -A contract comes into existence when any of the parties, accept the
cross offer made by the other party.
VI Counter offer :-when the offeree give qualified acceptance of the offer subject to
modified and variations in the terms of original offer. Counter offer amounts to rejection of
the original offer.
Legal effect of counter offer:-
(1) Rejection of original offer
(2) The original offer is lapsed
(3) A counter offer results a new offer.
In other words an offer made by the offeree in return of the original offer is called as a
counter offer.
Example:
A offered to sell his pen to B for Rs.1,000. B replied, “ I am ready to pay Rs.950.” On A’s
refusal to sell at this price, B agreed to pay Rs.1,000. Held, there was not contract as the
acceptance to buy it for Rs.950 was a counter offer, i.e. rejection of the offer of A.
Subsequent acceptance to pay Rs.1,000 is a fresh offer from B to which A was not bound to
give his acceptance
VII Standing, open and continuous offer:-An offer is allowed to remain open for
acceptance over a period of timeis known as standing, open orcontinually offer. Tender for
supply of goods is a kind of standing offer.
7
Business and labour law –offer and acceptance by Muhammad Naveed and Imran khan
Example:
When we ask the newspaper vendor to supply the newspaper daily. In such case, we do not
repeat our offer daily and the newspaper vendor supplies the newspaper to us daily. The
offers of such types are called Standing Offer.8
Acceptance 2(b):-When the person to whom the proposal is made, signifies his assent there
to , the proposal is said to be accepted. On the acceptance of the proposal, the proposer is
called the promisor/offeror and the acceptor is called the promise/offeree.9
Offer(i.e. Proposal) [section 2(a)]:-When one person signifies to another his willingness to
do or to abstain from doing anything, with a view to obtaining the assent of that other person
either to such act or abstinence, he is said to make a proposal.
To form an agreement, there must be at least two elements – one offer and the other
acceptance. Thus offer is the foundation of any agreement. 10
The person who makes an offer is called “Offeror” or “Promisor” and the person to whom the
offer is made is called the Offeree” or “Promisee”.
Example
Mr. A says to Mr. B, “Will you purchase my car for Rs.1,00,000?” In this case, Mr. A is
making an offer to Mr. B. Here A is the offeror and B is the offeree.
8
The Principles of Law of Contract Paperback 2018
by R C Srivastava (Author), Ashutosh Pathak (Author)page 24-28
9
THE INDIAN CONTRACT ACT, 1872 ACT NO. 9 OF 18721
10
THE INDIAN CONTRACT ACT, 1872 ACT NO. 9 OF 1872,interpretation clause[a]
11
THE INDIAN CONTRACT ACT, 1872 section 3
(a) By words (whether written or oral). The written offer can be made by letters, telegrams,
telex messages, advertisements, etc. The oral offer can be made either in person or over
telephone.
(b) By conduct. The offer may be made by positive acts or signs so that the person acting or
making signs means to say or convey. However silence of a party can in no case amount to
offer by conduct. An offer can also be made by a party by omission (to do something). This
includes such conduct or forbearance on one’s part that the other person takes it as his
willingness or assent.
An offer implied from the conduct of the parties or from the circumstances of the case is
known as implied offer.12
Examples
(1) A proposes, by letter, to sell a house to Bat a certain price. This is an offer by an act by
written words (i.e., letter). This is also an express offer.
(2) A proposes, over telephone, to sell a house to Bat a certain price. This is an offer by act
(by oral words). This is an express offer.
(3) A owns a motor boat for taking people from Bombay to Goa. The boat is in the waters at
the Gateway of India. This is an offer by conduct to take passengers from Bombay to Goa.
He need not speak or call the passengers. The very fact that his motor boat is in the waters
near Gateway of India signifies his willingness to do an act with a view to obtaining the
assent of the other. This is an example of an implied offer.
12
THE INDIAN CONTRACT ACT,1872 Paperback – 2015 by Narendra kumar
(4) The offer must be made with a view to obtaining the assent of the offeree.
(5) A statement made jokingly does not amount to an offer.
(6) An offer may involve a positive act or abstinence by the offeree.
(7) Mere expression of willingness does not constitute an offer.
A tells B’ that be desires to marry by the end of 2008, if does not constitute an offer
of marriage by A’ to B’ A further adds will you marry me. Then it become offer.13
2. The offer must be certain definite and not vague unambiguous and certain.
Example:
A offered to sell to B. ‘a hundred tons of oil’. The offer is uncertain as there is nothing to
show what kind of oil is intended to be sold.
3. The offer must be capable of creating legal relation. A social invitation is not create
legal relation. A social invitation, even if it is accepted does not create legal relationship
because it is not so intended to create legal relationship. Therefore, an offer must be such as
would result in a valid contract when it is accepted.
Example:
A invited B to a dinner and B accepted the invitation. It is a mere social invitation. And A
will not be liable if he fails to provide dinner to B.
13
Pollock & Mulla - The Indian Contract Act, 1872 page 110-112
14
THE INDIAN CONTRACT ACT, 1872 SECTION 4
15
Indiancaselaw.com/lalman Shukla vs gauri dutt
4. Offer may be express and implied
The offer may be express or implied; An offer may be express as well as implied. An offer
which is expressed by words, written or spoken, is called an express offer. The offer which is
expressed by conduct, is called an implied offer [Section 9].
5. Communication of complete offer
Example:
A offered to sell his pen to B for Rs.1,000. B replied, “I am ready to pay Rs.950”. On A’s
refusal to sell at this price, B agreed to pay Rs.1,000. held, there was not contract at the
acceptance to buy it for Rs.950 was a counter offer, i.e. rejection of the offer of A.
Subsequent acceptance to pay Rs.1,000 is a fresh offer from B to which A was not bound go
give his acceptance.
6. Counter offer –A counter offer amounts to rejection of the original offer
7. Cross offer do not conclude a contract
8. An offer must not thrust the burden of acceptance on the offeree.
Example:
A made a contract with B and promised that if he was satisfied as a customer he would
favorably consider his case for the renewal of the contract. The promise is too vague to create
a legal relationship.
The acceptance cannot be presumed from silence.
Acceptance is valid only if it is communicated to the offeror.
9. Offer must be distinguished from invitation to offer.
Example:
Menu card of restaurant is an invitation to put an offer.
Example ;
Price – tags attached with the goods displayed in any showroom or supermarket is also an
invitation to proposal. If the salesman or the cashier does not accept the price, the or the
cashier does not accept the price, the interested buyer cannot compel him to sell, if he wants
to buy it, he must make a proposal. 16
Example:
Job or tender advertisement inviting applications for a job or inviting tenders is an invitation
to an offer.
16
Sanjiva Rows : The Indian Contract Act, 1872 and Tenders with Latest Case laws, 13th Updated
Example: An advertisement for auction sale is merely an invitation to make an offer and not
an offer for sale. Therefore, an advertisement of an auction can be withdrawn without any
notice. The persons going to the auction cannot claim for loss of time and expenses if the
advertisement for auction is withdrawn.
10. Offeror should have an intention to obtain the consent of the offeree. A offer to do
(or) not to do something must be made with a view to obtaining the assent of the other party
addressed and it should not made merely with a view to disclosing the intention of making an
offer.
11. Offer may be specific (or) general:An offer is said to be specific when it is made to a
definite
person, such an offer is accepted only by the person to whom it is made. On the other hand
general offer is one which is made to a public at large and maybe accepted by anyone who
fulfills the requisite conditions.
Example: Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Company [1893]17
Facts:
In this case the plaintiff bought a medical preparation called ‘The Carbolic Smoke Ball’ on
the basis that the defendants advertised that they would pay £100 to any person who
contracted influenza after using the smoke ball in the prescribed manner and for a specified
period. Further, the defendants stated that ‘to show their sincerity’ they had deposited£
1,000 with the Alliance Bank. The plaintiff bought one of the smoke balls and used it in the
manner prescribed and promptly caught influenza! She sued for the £100. The defendants
contended that there was no agreement between them and used considerable ingenuity in
promoting this contention. One of the defences used was that it was not possible to make
an offer to the whole world since this would enable the whole world to accept the offer,
17
Simpson, A. W. B. (1985). "Quackery and Contract Law: The Case of the Carbolic Smoke Ball". Journal of
Legal Studies. 14 (2): 345–389. doi:10.1086/467776. JSTOR 724433.
which was clearly beyond the realms of commercial reality.
Held:
The Court of Appeal had no difficulty in rejecting this defence. Bowen LJ stated the position
very clearly as follows:
It was also said that the contract is made with the whole world – that is,
with everybody and you cannot contract with everybody. It is not a
contract made with all the world. There is the fallacy of the argument. It
is an offer made to all the world; and why should not an offer be made
to all the world which is to ripen into a contract with anybody who
comes forward and performs the condition? . . . Although the offer is
made to the world, the contract is made with that limited portion of the
public who come forward and perform the condition on the faith of the
advertisement.
The defendants also contended that the plaintiff had not accepted their offer and therefore
there was no consensus ad idem and thus no agreement. This defence, which was rejected,
exposes the fact that offers may arise in two forms, either bilateral or unilateral. A bilateral
offer arises where one party promises to do something in return for a promise made by the
offeree. Both parties are agreeing to do something in return for some reciprocal promise from
the other. An example of such an offer would be if A promises to sell their car in return for B
promising to pay £5,000. The vast majority of offers are of this type
KINDS OF OFFER
Express Implied Specific General Cross Counter Standing
offer offer offer offer offer offer Open and
Continuous
offer
I. Express offer -When the offeror expressly communication the offer the offer is said to be
an express offer the express communication of the offer may be made by Spoken word
orWritten word
II. Implied offer –when the offer is not communicate expressly. An offer may be implied
from:-
The conduct of the parties or the circumstances of the case
IV. General offer: -It means on offer which is made to the public in general.
• General offer can be accepted by anyone.
• If offeree fulfills the term and condition which is given in offer then offer is
accepted.
• Communication of acceptance is not necessary is case of general offer
Example
Company advertised that a reward of Rs.100 would be given to any person who would suffer
from influenza after using the medicine (Smoke balls) made by the company according to the
printed directions. One lady, Mrs, Carlill, purchased and used the medicine according to the
printed
Directions of the company but suffered from influenza, She filed a suit to recover the reward
of Rs.100. The court held that there was a contract as she had accepted a general offer by
using the medicine in the prescribed manner and as such as entitled to recover the reward
from the company.
Carlill v Carbilic Smoke Ball Co. 1893
V. Cross offer:- When two parties exchange identical offers in ignorance at the time of each
other’s offer the offer’s are called cross offer.Two cross offer does not conclude a contract.
Two offer are said to be cross offer if
1. They are made by the same parties to one another
2. Each offer made in ignorance of the offer made by the
3. The terms and conditions contained in both the offers’ are same.18
Example : A offers by a letter to sell 100 tons of steel at Rs.1,000 per ton. On the same day,
B also writes to A offering to buy 100 tons of steel at Rs.1,000 per ton. When does a contract
come into existence: -A contract comes into existence when any of the parties, accept the
cross offer made by the other party.
VI Counter offer :-when the offeree give qualified acceptance of the offer subject to
modified and variations in the terms of original offer. Counter offer amounts to rejection of
the original offer.
Legal effect of counter offer:-
(1) Rejection of original offer
(2) The original offer is lapsed
(3) A counter offer results a new offer.
In other words an offer made by the offeree in return of the original offer is called as a
counter offer.
Example:
A offered to sell his pen to B for Rs.1,000. B replied, “ I am ready to pay Rs.950.” On A’s
refusal to sell at this price, B agreed to pay Rs.1,000. Held, there was not contract as the
acceptance to buy it for Rs.950 was a counter offer, i.e. rejection of the offer of A.
Subsequent acceptance to pay Rs.1,000 is a fresh offer from B to which A was not bound to
give his acceptance
VII Standing, open and continuous offer:-An offer is allowed to remain open for
acceptance over a period of timeis known as standing, open orcontinually offer. Tender for
supply of goods is a kind of standing offer.
Example:
When we ask the newspaper vendor to supply the newspaper daily. In such case, we do not
repeat our offer daily and the newspaper vendor supplies the newspaper to us daily. The
offers of such types are called Standing Offer.19
18
Business and labour law –offer and acceptance by Muhammad Naveed and Imran khan
19
The Principles of Law of Contract Paperback 2018
by R C Srivastava (Author), Ashutosh Pathak (Author)page 24-28
LAPSE OF AN OFFER
An offer should be accepted before it lapses (i.e. comes to an end). Section 16, of the Indian
contract act, 1872 deals with various modes of revocation of offer. According to it, an offer is
revoked/lapses (or) comes to an end underfollowing circumstances. An offer may come to an
end in any of the following ways stated in Section 6 of the Indian Contract Act:
An auctioneer advertised that certain goods would be sold at a certain location on a certain
date. The plaintiff went to the sale but all the lots he was interested in had been withdrawn.
He sued the auctioneer for his loss of time and expenses.
Held:
It was held that the claim must fail as the advertisement of the auction was merely a
declaration of intent to hold a sale and did not amount to an offer capable of being
accepted and thus forming the basis of a binding contract, that is, that the advertisement
merely amounted to an invitation to treat.
20
communication of revocation by Harris Lewis JSTOR/CONTRACTS
21
LawTeacher. November 2013. Harris v Nickerson - Summary. [online]. Available from:
https://www.lawteacher.net/cases/harris-v-nickerson.php?vref=1 [Accessed 24 November 2018].
2. By lapse of time; Where time is fixed for the acceptance of the offer, and it is not
accepted within the fixed time, the offer comes to an end automatically on the expiry of fixed
time. Where no time for acceptance is prescribed, the offer has to be accepted within
reasonable time. The offer lapses if It is not accepted within that time. The term‘reasonable
time’ will depend upon the facts and circumstances of each case.
Example: Ramsgate victoria Hotel Company (vs) Monteflore (1886)22
Facts :On June 8th ‘M’ offered to take shares in ‘R’ Company. He received a letter of
acceptance on November 23 rd. . He refused to take shares.
Judgment:‘M’ was entitled to refuse his offer has lapsed as the reasonable period which it
could be accepted and elapsed.
3. By failure to accept condition precedent: Where, the offer requires that some condition
must, be fulfilled before the acceptance of the offer, the offer lapses, if it is accepted without
fulfilling the condition.
4. By the death or insanity of the offeror: Where, the offeror dies or becomes, insane, the
offer comes to an end if the fact of his death or insanity comes to the knowledge of the
acceptor before he makes his acceptance. But if the offer is accepted in ignorance of the fact
of death or insanity of the offeror, the acceptance is valid. This will result in a valid contract,
and legal representatives of the deceased offeror shall be bound by the contract.
On the death of offeree before acceptance, the offer also comes to an end by operation of law.
23
5. By counter – offer by the offeree: Where, a counter – offer is made by the offeree, and
then the original offer automatically comes to an end, as the counter – offer amounts to
rejections of the original offer.
Example: Hyde (vs) Wrench (1840)24
Facts:
22
LawTeacher. November 2013. Ramsgate Victoria Hotel v Montefiore - 1866. [online]. Available from:
https://www.lawteacher.net/cases/ramsgate-hotel-v-montefiore.php?vref=1 [Accessed 24 November 2018].
23
Understanding laws –contracts by Garima Tiwari[Jabalpur]page 69-70
24
Beale, Hugh; Arthur Hartkamp; Hein Kotz; Denis Tallon (2002). Cases, Materials and Texts on Contract Law.
Hart Publishing
The defendant offered to sell his farm for £1,000. The plaintiff at first made a counter
offer of £950, but two days later agreed to pay £1,000 and attempted to accept the
original offer. The defendant refused to complete the sale and the plaintiff brought an
action against him for a decree of specific performance.
Held:
It was held that no contract existed since by his letter offering £950 the plaintiff had made
a counter-offer, the effect of which was to reject and destroy the original offer, so that the
latter was therefore not available for him to accept two days later.
6. By not accepting the offer, according to the prescribed or usual mode: Where some
manner of acceptance is prescribed in the offer, the offeror can revoke the offer if it is not
accepted according to the prescribed manner.
7. By rejection of offer by the offeree: Where, the offeree rejects the offer, the offer comes
to an end. Once the offeree rejects the offer, he cannot revive the offer by subsequently
attempting to accept it.The rejection of offer may be express or implied.
8. By change in law: Sometimes, there is a changein law which makes the offer illegal or
incapable of performance. In such cases also, the offer comes to an end.
ACCEPTANCE
25
Scott robet E –Contract theory and limtations of the contract law
Acceptance 2(b):-When the person to whom the proposal is made, signifies his assent there
to , the proposal is said to be accepted. On the acceptance of the proposal, the proposer is
called the promisor/offeror and the acceptor is called the promise/offeree.26
Examples
A trader receives an order from a customer and executes the order by sending the goods. The
customer’s order for goods constitutes the offer which was accepted by the trader by sending
the goods. It is a case of acceptance by conduct. Here the trader is accepting the offer by the
performance of the act.
26
THE INDIAN CONTRACT ACT, 1872 ACT NO. 9 OF 18721
27
Boultan vs Jones 857) 2 H and N 564, [1857] EngR 935, (1857) 157 ER 232
28
Korobikin Russell –status quo bias and defend contract rules page 10
• An acceptance with a variation, slight, is no acceptance, and may amount to a mere counter-
offer (i.e.., original may or may not accept
Example:A offers to sell his house to B for Rs. two lakhs. B accepts the offer and
promises to pay the price in four installments. This isnotpay the acceptance as the
acceptance is with variation inthe terms of the offer.
3. Manner of acceptance
General rule say that it must be as per the manner prescribed by offeror. If no mode is
prescribed in which it can beaccepted, then it must be in some usual and reasonable manner.
• Communication of the acceptance must be expressed or implied.
• A mere mental acceptance is no acceptance.
8. Acceptance of offer may be expressly (by words spoken or written); or impliedly (by
acceptance of consideration); or by performance of conditions (e.g.in case of a general offer)
10. However, following are the two exceptions to the above rule. It means silence
amounts as acceptance of offer.
• Where offeree agrees that non – refusal by him within specified time shall amount to
acceptance of offer.
• When there is custom or usage of trade which specified that silence shall amount to
acceptance.
29
Economic analysis of the law of contract by Posner and Eric
In case of acceptance by post, the time of posting the letter of acceptance to the time of
contract. But in case of acceptance by instantaneous means of communication, the time of
contract is the time when the offeror gets the communication, the time of contract is the time
when offeror gets the communication of acceptance.