Brandon's is a Supermarket Problem Question with Worked Example

Read the question below. Note that this is an example that we will work through together – the question you need to answer is at the end.  Brandonsisasupermarketandwishestolaunchanewrangeof ‘experiencepackages’–wherecustomersbuyanexperience(suchas drivingaracingcar)asagift.Itputsanadvertisementattheentrance totheshopsaying‘SpecialIntroductoryOffer!Free£10giftvoucherfor youwhenyoubuyaBrandonsExperiencePackage!’ CarolseesthisnoticeandimmediatelybuysaBrandonsExperience Packageforherfather.Sheisdisappointedwhenthestorerefusesto givehera£10giftvoucher.  Advise Carol.  This is a simple contract law problem question, but working through your answer using the ILAC method below will give you the template for dealing with much more complicated problems. The ILAC Method WhatistheILACmethod?ItstandsforIssue–Law–Application–Conclusionandprovidesa structuredmethodforansweringanylegalproblemquestion. 1.ISSUE-Whatisthenarrowlegalissue,whichneedstoberesolvedinordertoadvisetheparties? 2.LAW-Whatlegalprinciplesneedtobeappliedinordertoresolvetheissueyouhaveidentified? Explainthoseprincipleswithsupportingauthority. 3.APPLICATION/ANALYSIS-Howdoesthelawapplytothissituation? 4.CONCLUSION–Reachaconclusionwhichanswersthequestionandresolvesthelegalissue. How should you approach a problem question? First,readthequestioncarefullyandthenconsiderthefollowing:  Whoaretheparties?  Whohasdonewhattowhom?  Whatdoesthequestionaskyoutodo?Areyouaskedtoadviseaparticularparty?Areyou askedtoadviseonaparticularissue?  Whatareaoflawmightberelevant?Doesitconcernmorethanoneareaoflaw?  Canyounarrowitdowntoaparticularaspectoraspectsofthisareaoflaw?  Ifso,whatelementsmakeuptheseaspectsofthelaw? Thisisallpartofyourinitialpreparationtoresearchandanswerthequestion–notallofitwillbe includedinyouranswer.Youthenneedtostartplanningandworkingonyouranswer. Step 1: Identify the issues Youcouldstartbyconsideringwhatthepartiesarearguingabout.Youshouldmakesurethatyou haveclearlyunderstoodthefactsandwhathashappened.Onceyouunderstandtheproblem,then youcanisolatetheareaswherethereisadisputeoflaw.Thelegalissueinaproblemisthepointof lawwhichhastoberesolvedforyoutobeabletoanswerthequestionoradvisetheparties.You needtostatewhattheissueisbeforeyoumoveontodescribethelaworattempttoreacha conclusion. Inourexampleabove,CarolclearlywantstoknowwhetherBrandonshastogiveherthe£10gift voucher.So,isthistheissue?Notquite.Itisthefactualquestionthatwewillultimatelywantto answer,butitisnotyetnarrowenoughorrelatedtolawtobethelegalissue. SowhatdoweneedtoworkouttodecideifCarolisentitledtothegiftvoucher?Weknowthatshe willbeentitledtothevoucherifsheandBrandonshaveacontract–soperhapstheissueiswhether theyhaveacontract?Thisisnearerthemark–itreferstolaw–butitisstilltoobroadtobemuch help. Sowhataspectofcontractlawisinquestionhere?WeneedtoworkoutwhetherCaroland Brandonshaveformedacontract–soweneedtoconsiderwhethertheelementsofcontract formationarepresent.Itisveryunlikelythatacontractproblemquestionwouldeveraskyouto lookatalloftheelementsindetail–theytendtofocusonparticularaspects.Inthisquestion,we areconcernedwithwhethertherehasbeenanagreement–offerandacceptance.Isthistheissue? Itwouldbeagoodstartforyoutosaythattheissueiswhethertherehasbeenavalidofferand acceptanceleadingtoacontract–butwecoulddoevenbetter.Whyhaveweruledouttheother elementsofcontractformationatthisstage?Becausetheyarenotreallyinissuehere–the problemiswhetherthereisanagreementatall. Considerthequestionagain.Thenarrowestlegalissuerelatingtoofferandacceptanceiswhether theadvertisementisanofferoraninvitationtotreat.Iftheadvertisanoffer,thenwecangoonto considerwhetherCarolhasacceptedittoformanagreement.Ifitisaninvitationtotreat,then therecouldbenocontract. What is the issue in our example? The issue in this question is whether there has been a valid offer and acceptance leading to a contract between Carol and Brandons. If there is a contract then Carol will be entitled to the gift voucher. In order to work this out, we must decide whether the advertisement is an invitation to treat or an offer. If it is an invitation to treat, then there is no contract but if it is an offer then Carol may have accepted it and formed a contract. Step 2: LAW - identify the relevant area of law. Thismeansknowingwhattheareasoflawrelevanttoresolvingtheissueareabout.Ifyouhave doneagoodjoboffocussingyourissuenarrowly,thenyoushouldhaveagoodideawhatthe relevantlawis.Donotmakethemistakeofretellingallyouknowaboutofferandacceptance– particularlyifyouareonlyraisingtopicstodismissthem. OnceyouhaveidentifiedtheareaoflawsufÏcientlynarrowly,considerwhatelementsmustbe provedortestssatisfiedtoresolvetheissue.Explainwhattheyarewithreferencetocaselaw, statuteor(failingeitherofthose)agoodlawtextbook. Inourexample,weneedtodecideiftheadvertisementisaninvitationtotreatoranoffer.So,we wouldneedadefinitionofaninvitationtotreatfromcaselawaswellasadefinitionofanoffer. Thefactsofthequestionshouldalsosuggestthatifthisisanoffer,itwillbeaunilateralofferandso weneedanexplanationofwhatthatisandhowitmightbeaccepted. Howmuchdetaildoyouneedandhowmanycases?Youneedthebestcaselaw(orstatuteif appropriate)whichillustratestheprincipleyouwanttoexplain.Doyouneedtogivethefactsof cases?Iftheywillhelptoanswerthequestion(forexample,iftheyarestrikinglysimilartothe question)thenyoucanincludethem–butkeepitasbriefaspossible.Moreimportantly,makesure yougivethelegalprinciplefromthecaseandnotjustthefacts. So what law is relevant to our example? Invitation to treat – an invitation to come and make an offer or enter into negotiations. Relevant cases include Partridge v Crittenden, Fisher v Bell and Boots v PSGB (you do not need all three as they give the same principle in different factual situations). In Partridge v Crittenden, for example, you could explain that an advertisement for the sale of wild birds was considered to be an invitation to treat rather than an offer to sell. There was no intention that the buyer should complete the contract simply by saying he wanted to buy – the seller merely intended to invite offers. The principle here is not that all advertisements are invitations to treat, but that they will be where the intention is only to invite offers to buy. Offers – most generally, these are promises to be bound on certain terms. As we think this may be a unilateral offer, we should consider the case of Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co. The detailed facts of Carlill are not very helpful here, although we could note that it also concerned an advertisement. Importantly, the advertisement in Carlill was a unilateral offer because the court found that the wording of the advert made it more than an invitation to make an offer and that there was a clear intention to make a promise. Anyone reading the advert in Carlill was being promised that they would be rewarded if they performed the acts it specified and so this was an offer. The principle we can take from this is that an advertisement may be a unilateral offer if it has the character of a promise in return for an act. Acceptance of a unilateral offer? Carlill makes clear that it is by performing the act specified in the offer. Afteryouhaddonethis,youmightthenbeinapositiontosaywhether,inyouropinion,the claimantcouldsucceedintheircase. Step 3: APPLICATION/ANALYSIS-apply the law to the facts in issue. Donotapproachthisstageasiftheanswerissoobviousthatyoudonotneedtoexplainyour reasoning.Explainhowandwhythelawappliestothefacts.Rememberthatitisnotenoughto statethelawandthentherelevantfactswithoutexplainingifandwhythelawappliestothose facts.Itisyourabilitytoanalysethatisimportant. So how might we apply the law in our example? The key difference between an invitation to treat and a unilateral offer is whether there is merely an invitation to make an offer or a promise in return for an act. Looking at the Brandons advertisement, this does not look like the sort of advertisement in Partridge – where goods are being advertised for sale at a price. Analysis of the wording strongly suggests that customers are being promised a voucher if they buy an Experience Package. If so, then the advertisement is a unilateral offer, where a reward is promised in return for performing an act. Carol can accept such an offer by buying the Experience Package – which she has done. Step 4: CONCLUSION - give your overall opinion linking facts and law together. Thedegreeofcertaintyisuptoyouandistosomeextentdependentonthefactsgiveninthe problem.Whereyoucannotbecertainoftheoutcomebecause,forexample,notallthefactsare given,thenexplainthisandgivealternativeconclusions.Don’tworryifyoufeelyoudon’thaveall thefactsmakeyourjudgmentsfromtheinformationavailable.Youcanmakeassumptions,butbe realisticandmaketheminthecontextofthefactspresentedintheproblem. Notethattheremaybenodefinitivelyrightorwronganswerinalegalproblemquestion. Assessmentandcreditisprincipallybasedonrecognitionofthecentralissuesandyourapplication oftherelevantprinciplesoflawtothoseissues. So, what might you conclude in our example? Carol therefore appears to have made a valid agreement with Brandons which she can enforce and claim her gift voucher. Planning to write an answer to a problem question Wehavealreadyconsideredhowyoumightwriteyouranswermorefullyineachsectionabove. Beforeyoucanwriteaneffectiveanswer,however,youneedtowriteagoodplan.  Issue IsthereacontractbetweenCarol(C)andBrandons(B)?Mainproblem areaiswhetherthereisvalidofferandacceptance.Specificissue–is theadvertaninvitationtotreat(ITT)orunilateraloffer?IfanITT,then nocontract.IfanofferwillneedtoseeifChasacceptedandformed anagreement. Law ITT=invitationtomakeanoffer.IllustratedinPartridge v Crittenden (legalprinciple=thatdisplayofgoodsforsalewithapricedoesnot usuallyamounttoanofferbutismerelyITT).  Offer=promisetobeboundoncertainterms.  Unilateraloffer?CaseofCarlill v Carbolic Smokeball Coexplainsthat whetheranadvertisementisanITTorofferwilldependonwhether theadvertiserseemstobemakingapromisewhichcanbeacceptedby performingspecifiedactions,orismerelyinvitingreaderstocomeand makeanoffer.WordingofadvertisementinCarlill stronglysuggested apromise(topay£100)inreturnforanact(buyingthesmokeball, usingitcorrectlyandstillcatchingthe‘flu).  Howisaunilateralofferaccepted?Carlill makesclearthereisnoneed fortheoffereetocommunicateanintentiontoaccept.Alltheofferee needstodoisperformtheactrequiredbythepromisor–thisisthe acceptanceandwillleadtoabindingcontract. Application and conclusion LookatwordingofB’sadvertisementandconsiderwhetherthis suggestsapromisetoCorjustaninvitationto comeandmakeanoffer.  ITToroffer?NotlikePartridge,wheregoodslistedforsalewithaprice. Wordingsuggestsapromise(togiveavoucher)inreturnforanact (buyinganExperiencePackage)andsotheadvertisementseemstobe aunilateraloffer.  Acceptance?ChasperformedtheactspecifiedbyBandsoseemsto haveacceptedtheoffer.  Conclusion–BmadeaunilateralofferwhichCacceptedwhenshe boughttheExperiencePackage.ContractcreatedbetweenCandB andsoBmustgiveCthevoucherorbeinbreachofcontract.  Seebelowforanexampleofaplanforthisanswer. Formative Assessment Task Instructions  Question Davidissellinghissharesinthefamilybusinessandisnegotiatingtheir saletoEdward.On1stOctober,DavidmakesanoffertoEdwardtosell thesharestohimfor£125,000.Edwardeventuallysaysthathewould liketobuytheshareson12thJanuary–bywhichtimeDavidhassold themtoFrances.Edwardisveryupsetandclaimstohaveacontract withEdwardforthesaleoftheshares.Davidsayshehadassumed Edwardwasnolongerinterestedandsohadsoldtosomeoneelse. Advise David.  This is the question you need to base your answer on. Readtheproblemquestionbelow. Youarenotbeingaskedtowriteafullanswertothisquestion. Instead, you need to write an answer plan of no more than 250 words.Thereisanexampleofananswerplanontheprevious page. YoumustusetheILACmethodtostructureyourplan,asintheexampleplanonthepreviouspage (i.e.usetheheadingsof‘issue’,‘law’and‘applicationandconclusion’). Asitisananswerplanratherthanafullanswer,thereisnoneedtoreferenceyourplan.