Felthouse v Bindley
Citation: (1862)
EWHC CP J 35
This case lays
down the rule that acceptance of an offer has to be communicated to the person
making the offer himself. Communication of acceptance to anyone else will not
amount to a valid acceptance.
The uncle (Plaintiff)
was negotiating the price of a horse with his nephew. There was some
misunderstanding regarding the price following which the uncle wrote to the
nephew, “If I hear no more about him, I consider the horse mine at £30-15.”
The nephew did
not reply since he was busy but told his auctioneer (Defendant) not to sell the
horse since it was already sold. The auctioneer sold it by mistake.
Plaintiff
brought an action for conversion against the Defendant. The question before the
court was if a valid contract had been entered into.
It was held that
no valid contract had been formed since the acceptance of the offer was not
communicated to the person making it.
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