BTF1010 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Pitt Club, Contract, Aust
6 Jun 2018
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ACCEPTANCE RULES
1. Acceptance must be communicated (oral, in writing, or by conduct or, in the case of unilateral cont
racts, performance of an act)
2. Acceptance can be implied by conduct and aware of how contract was made
• Case: Empirnall
3. Silence is not acceptance
• Case: Felthouse v Bindley
• Silence can be understood as acceptance when both parties had a pre-existing relationship before
the current contract
• Cannot be imposed by silence. Acceptance cannot be inferred from the silence or inaction of the
offeree
4. Offeree must be aware of the offer
• Case: R v Clarke
• Acceptance follows offer
• If the acceptor is not aware of the offer and coveys his acceptance, no contract is formed
5. Unilateral contract: offeror waives right to communication
• Case: Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co
• Smoke Ball could not argue that Mrs Carlill had not communicated her acceptance
• Mrs Carlill accepted by performing the acts requested by company: purchased item
6. Acceptance must be unconditional
• Case: Masters v Cameron
• A qualified acceptance would amount to a counter-offer
7. Acceptance must follow the conditions (if any) in the offer
• Case: Gilbert J McCaul (Aust) Pty Ltd v Pitt Club Ltd
8. Acceptance can only be made to the party to whom the made (but may be made to the world at larg
e – Carlill)
9. Acceptance can be revoked at any time prior to acceptance being communicated
10. Acceptance must be communicated within time or a reasonable time and in an authorised manner
• Failure to do so will imply that he has accepted the acceptance thought it is not in the desired
manner
• Case: Powell v Lee
• It was held that Powell’s offer had not been accepted as the resolution was never communicated
to him in an authorised manner
11. Electronic communication
12. Postal Acceptance Rule
• Exception to the principle that acceptance must be communicated to the offeror
