Violin Case Study

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No, Sam can’t sue Mary for breach of contract. Although the basic terms of price and property (the violin) had been contained in this case, the violin with price displayed is an invitation to treat, not an offer. Offer is defined as the expression of one person’s intention to others to have a legally binding agreement, so an offer must show the intention of the offeror (Mary) to make an offer to the offeree (Sam). In the case of Harvey v Facey [1893] AC 552, Harvey asked whether would Facey sell him the Bumper Hall Pen and telegraph him the lowest cash price-answer paid. Facey replied that the lowest price was £900 and then Harvey agreed to buy for this amount. But Facey refused to sell later. The court held that the offer of lowest acceptable price did not constitute an offer to sell but an invitation to treat. In our case, what Mary said to Sam was also an invitation to treat that has no legally binding effect. When one person makes an invitation to treat, he or she is just inviting offers instead of making ones. Examples of invitations to treat include advertisements in newspapers, shop displays, and auctions, etc. In the case of Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain v Boots Cash Chemist …show more content…

Sometimes there would be something given in return for the promise in the agreement (Combe v Combe [1951] 1 All ER 767) unless the agreement is in the form of a deed which is a signed, sealed and delivered document. So a gift not in the form of a deed cannot be enforced under contract law as there is no consideration supporting it. But in Esso Petroleum Co Ltd v Customs & Excise Commissioners [1976] 1 All ER 117, a company said in an advertisement that there would be a free world cup coin “given in return for 4 gallons of petrol”. Most judges decided that there was a contract as to the coin and it was not a gift because the coin has value. This case is just the same as ours. The metronome Mary promised to give was an offer to

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