⏹Facts: B offered to sell his car to A for $500. A said he would buy
it but he needed time to raise the money. B said he would wait until Sunday to allow him to find the money. However, on Friday C offered B $600 for the car and B accepted C’s offer and so ld it to him. B tried to ring A to tell him the car had already been sold so he could not buy it. A’s sister answered the phone and took the message, but forgot to tell A. On Sunday A arrived at B’s flat with the money.
⏹Issue: Question: Is there a binding contract between B and A?
⏹Rule:
⏹This question is about offer and acceptance. An offer can be
accepted until it is revoked, but a promise to keep an offer open until
a certain date is not binding unless it is supported by consideration.
⏹It can be revoked at any time before acceptance, but revocation is
not effective until it is communicated to the offeree.
⏹In order to be effective an acceptance must be firm and
communicated.
⏹Application/Analysis ：In this case there is an offer by B to sell A his
car for $500. When A says he will buy if it he can raise the money, this is not an acceptance, because it is conditional –not firm. B promises to keep the offer open until Sunday, but he is not bound by this promise as it is gratuitous. B is therefore entitled to revoke the offer on Friday, but the revocation is not effective until it is
communicated to A. A’s sister failed to pass on the message because she forgot and therefore A did not receive notice of the revocation.
So when he turned up at B’s flat with the money, he was accepting the offer.
Conclusion: Therefore, there is a binding contract between B and
A .。