Law of Obligations Contract Question

[Office]

Philip wants to sell his house and advertises it in the local newspaper at £370,000,

giving his telephone number. Jim sees the advertisement and rings Philip and makes

an appointment to see the house. Jim likes the house but cannot agree a price with

Philip, his highest offer being £367,000, while Philip insists on £370,000.

On the following Monday Jim receives a letter from Philip offering him the house for

£368,500 and saying that Jim can have until noon on Friday to think about it. On

Wednesday evening Jim meets his brother Garrett in their local. Garrett tells him that

Philip's son-in-law bought the house earlier that day for £367,000. Jim goes straight

home and writes a letter to Philip, accepting his offer to sell at £368,500. He posts the

letter immediately and Philip receives it on Thursday morning, but replies,” i already sold the house to my brother in law”. Does Jim has valid contract

 

[Kasomi]

In contract law, a valid contract is formed when there is an offer, acceptance, consideration, and an intention to create legal relations. Let's break down the scenario:

1- Offer: Philip advertised his house for £370,000. This is an invitation to treat, not an offer. The offer was made when Philip sent a letter to Jim offering the house for £368,500.

2- Acceptance: Jim wrote a letter accepting Philip's offer and posted it immediately. According to the postal rule, acceptance is effective as soon as the letter is posted, regardless of whether it has been received by the offeror.

4- Consideration: The consideration here is the price of the house (£368,500).
Intention to create legal relations: The intention to create legal relations is implied in the context of a commercial transaction.

However, there is a twist in this scenario. Philip sold the house to his son-in-law before Jim could accept the offer. This means that Philip had effectively revoked his offer before Jim could accept it.

In conclusion, no valid contract was formed between Jim and Philip. This is because the offer was revoked before acceptance could take place.