An exchange of letters which together constituted a binding agreement would satisfy the requirements of Section 4 as it applied to contracts for the sale of land.
Lord Selborne said: ‘The observation has often been made, that a contract established by letters may sometimes bind parties who, when they wrote those letters, did not imagine that they were finally settling terms of the agreement by which they were to be bound; and it appears to me that no such contract ought to be held established, even by letters which would otherwise be sufficient for the purpose, if it is clear, upon the facts, that there were other conditions of the intended contract, beyond and besides those expressed in the letters, which were still in a state of negotiation only, and without the settlement of which the parties had no idea of concluding any agreement. ‘
Judges:
Lord Selborne
Citations:
[1879] 4 App Cas 311
Statutes:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Applied – Lever v Koffler 1901
An offer was made in writing by the Defendant to sell two parcels of real property on alternative bases, where one of the alternatives was accepted both orally and by letter by the Plaintiff. He suggested two bases upon which the 1677 Act operated . .
Cited – Mehta v J Pereira Fernandes SA ChD 7-Apr-2006
The parties were in dispute. The now respondent threatened winding up. The appellant had someone in his company send an email requesting an adjournment and apparently giving a personal guarantee to a certain amount. The application was adjourned, . .
Cited – Pagnan SpA v Feed Products Ltd CA 2-Jan-1987
Contractually Bound – but Further Terms to Agree
The parties had gone ahead with performance of the arrangement between them, but without a formal agreement being in place.
Held: Parties may intend to be bound forthwith even though there are further terms still to be agreed. If they then . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Contract
Updated: 01 May 2022; Ref: scu.241708