Contract Law Advertisement Dispute
Summary
In contract law, advertisements are generally seen as invitations to treat, not offers. In this case, Joannas advertisement was an invitation to treat. Alex made an offer of £200 for the Criminology books, but since Joanna never communicated acceptance, no contract was formed. Silence does not typically constitute acceptance in contract law. Therefore, Joannas decision to gift the books to the University Library does not breach any contract with Alex.Full Conversation
Joanna has until recently held an important professorial role at the University of
Sheffcaster. In September she decided to retire and is now seeking to empty her
office and hopes to sell a number of her large collection of key textbooks to
colleagues within the department and at other local Universities.
With this in mind she has put an advert in the relevant newsletter for each of the
local institutions stating:
“For sale, large collection of law and criminology texts, no reasonable offer refused”.
The advert provided her phone number and email address. Alex left a message on
Joanna’s mobile phone a few days later stating that he was only interested in the
Criminology books, but would pay £* for them, confirming that he was not
interested in anything else.As Joanna was rather anxious to dispose of the books and having thought about it
over the weekend she decided to gift them to the University Library.
In contract law, an advertisement is generally considered an invitation to treat rather than an offer. However, since Alex made a specific offer of £* for the Criminology books, and if Joanna had accepted this offer, a contract would have been formed. Joanna's decision to gift the books to the University Library without accepting Alex's offer means no contract was formed.
To provide more precise information, can you confirm if Joanna ever communicated acceptance of the offer to Alex?
she never communicated acceptace her response was silence
In this scenario, the advertisement Joanna placed is typically considered an "invitation to treat," not an actual offer. Since Alex made an offer and Joanna never communicated her acceptance, no contract was formed. Silence generally does not amount to acceptance in contract law.
Would you like to know more about how invitation to treat operates or other aspects of contract law?