The plaintiff sought specific performance of what he said was a contract for the sale of land.
Held: The appeal succeeded. In a case where a contract is alleged to have been made by an exchange of correspondence between the parties, in which the successive communications other than the first are in reply to one another, the normal analysis of a contract as being constituted by offer and acceptance falls to be applied. It may not be necessary where a contract is alleged to have come into existence through performance. ‘My Lords, there may be certain types of contract, though I think they are exceptional, which do not fit easily into the normal analysis of a contract as being constituted by offer and acceptance; but a contract alleged to have been made by an exchange of correspondence between the parties in which the successive communications other than the first are in reply to one another is not one of these. I can see no reason in the instant case for departing from the conventional approach of looking at the handful of documents relied upon as constituting the contract sued upon and seeing whether upon their true construction there is to be found in them a contractual offer by the corporation to sell the house to Mr. Gibson and an acceptance of that offer by Mr. Gibson.’
Lord Diplock, Lord Edmund-Davies, Lord Fraser of Tullybelton, Lord Russell of Killowen, Lord Keith of Kinkel
[1979] 1 WLR 294, [1979] UKHL 6, [1979] 1 All ER 972
Bailii
Law of Property Act 1925 40
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Storer v Manchester City Council CA 1974
Whether a contract has been made
A newly elected city Council refused to proceed with the sale of a dwelling and premises to a sitting tenant, the plaintiff. The sale had been arranged by the previous Council. The plaintiff had signed the form sent to him by the council, and only . .
Cited – Hyde v Wrench ChD 8-Dec-1840
The defendant offered to sell his land to the plaintiff for andpound;1000. The plaintiff counter-offered andpound;950, which was rejected. The plaintiff then said that he accepted the original offer.
Held: Lord Langdale MR said: ‘there exists . .
Cited – Stevenson v McLean 1880
. .
Cited – Clarke v Earl Dunraven 1897
A court may be able to hold that there is a contract even though it is difficult or impossible to analyse the transaction in terms of offer and acceptance. ‘You should look at the correspondence as a whole and at the conduct of the parties and see . .
Appeal from – Gibson v Manchester City Council CA 1978
The parties disputed which terms of a contract applied.
Held: Lord Denning MR rejected the conventional approach of looking to see whether upon the true construction of the documents relied upon there can be discerned an offer and acceptance: . .
Cited by:
Cited – Barbara Fontana (Administratrix of the Estate of Alan Neil Gosley Deceased) v Skandia Life Assurance Ltd and Molesworths (a Firm) CA 14-Dec-2000
The deceased took out pension and life policies. After failure to make payments they were suspended. The savings element was re-instated, but the deceased did not return the statement as to his health. At first instance the court held the insurance . .
Cited – Kilcarne Holdings Ltd v Targetfollow (Birmingham) Ltd, Targetfollow Group Ltd ChD 9-Nov-2004
The defendant entered into an agreement for lease, incurring substantial obligations. When it could not meet them it sought assistance from the claimant, who now claimed to have an interest in a joint venture. The draft documentation originally . .
Cited – Tekdata Interconnections Ltd v Amphenol Ltd CA 19-Nov-2009
The court considered which of two sets of contractual terms applied. The parties had dealt with each other over a long period. Under standard offer and acceptance the seller’s terms would apply. The buyer appealed, saying the court should look to . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Contract
Leading Case
Updated: 01 November 2021; Ref: scu.184173
