''Dickinson v Dodds'' (1876) 2 Ch D 463 is an
English contract law
English contract law is the body of law that regulates legally binding agreements in England and Wales. With its roots in the lex mercatoria and the activism of the judiciary during the Industrial Revolution, it shares a heritage with countries ...
case
Case or CASE may refer to:
Instances
* Instantiation (disambiguation), a realization of a concept, theme, or design
* Special case, an instance that differs in a certain way from others of the type
Containers
* Case (goods), a package of relate ...
heard by the
Court of Appeal
An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...
,
Chancery Division
The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC (England ...
, which held that notification by a third party of an offer's withdrawal is effective just like a withdrawal by the person who made an offer. The significance of this case to many students of contract law is that a promise to keep an offer open (an option) is itself a contract which must have some consideration.
Facts
On Wednesday 10 June 1874, Mr Dodds delivered Mr Dickinson an offer to sell some houses for £800, an offer open until 9am on Friday 12 June. On Thursday afternoon, another man called Mr Berry told Mr Dickinson that the houses had already been sold to someone called Mr Allan (who was the second defendant). Mr Dickinson found Mr Dodds in the railway carriage at 7am on Friday, leaving
Darlington railway station
Darlington railway station is a principal stop on the East Coast Main Line, serving the town of Darlington in County Durham, England. It is north of . It is situated between to the south and to the north. Its three-letter station code is D ...
, and gave his acceptance there. But Mr Dodds said it was too late. Mr Dickinson sued for
breach of contract
Breach of contract is a legal cause of action and a type of civil wrong, in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other part ...
.
Judgment
James LJ held that Mr Berry had conveyed notice of the withdrawal of the offer. After referring to the document of 10 June 1874 he said the following:
Mellish LJ agreed and said,
Baggallay JA concurred.
Significance
Communication of the withdrawal of the offer can be made by any reliable third party.
An option must have consideration to be binding.
See also
*
Contract
A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...
*
Offer and acceptance
Offer and acceptance are generally recognized as essential requirements for the formation of a contract (together with other requirements such as consideration and legal Capacity (law), capacity). Analysis of their operation is a traditional appro ...
*
Invitation to treat
An invitation to treat (or invitation to bargain in the United States) is a concept within contract law which comes from the Latin phrase ''invitatio ad offerendum'', meaning "inviting an offer". According to Professor Andrew Burrows, an invita ...
References
{{reflist
External links
Text of caseat
Commonwealth Legal Information Institute site
Article about the case from Contract Law Blog
English contract case law
1876 in case law
Court of Appeal (England and Wales) cases
1876 in British law