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sses. The defendant also stated that they had placed ㏒1,000 in a bank account to demonstrate their sincerity. Suffice to say that the claimant took up the challenge and after roughly 8 weeks of continuous use she contracted the flu. Mrs. Carlill claimed the ㏒100 but the defendant refused to pay; they claimed that there was no contract in place for her to enforce the claim.

Contract law cases

This matter progressed to the Court of Appeal. The defendants maintained that there was no intention to create legal relations and the advert amounted to nothing more than an invitation to treat. At no stage did the claimant tell them that she had accepted their offer. Nevertheless the Court of Appeal confirmed that there was in fact a contract in effect between the parties. This situation amounted to a ※unilateral contract§ whereby one party offers money in exchange for the performance of a stipulated act. Whereas normally an advert would amount to nothing more than an invitation to treat, the request for the performance of an act made it an offer. There was no requirement for Mrs. Carlill to inform the defendant that she had accepted it, the undertaking of the challenge was tantamount to acceptance.

There were arguments from the defendant that the wording of the advert was too vague for it to amount to a contract. There is always a requirement that the specifics of the offer are precise so as to avoid confusion. While there was some scope for interpretation, the Court adopted a literal meaning to the advert, which simply state that providing the claimant took the smoke balls continuously and then contracted any of those illnesses she would receive ㏒100. The deposit of ㏒1,000 into an account was a demonstration of the defendants meaning and willingness to rely upon their product in light of this challenge. The Court had no hesitation is finding in these specific circumstances that there was a contract under which the claimant was due ㏒100.

While this case demonstrates how the law of contract protects the party who in good conscience accepts the terms put forward by the offeror, it remains something of an anomaly. This situation would only be enforceable where the offeree was required to undertake a specific task, thereby removing the need for communicating acceptance and transferring an invitation to treat into a formal offer. There is also a lesson for the na?ve or careless when setting challenges and making proposals to others. A contract can arise even when the intention was to make an informal offer, but in the absence of a specific statement to that effect, the conduct of the offeror may infer the requisite legal intention.

Coward v. Motor Insurers＊ Bureau (1963) 1 QB 259 (CA)

In this matter Mr. Coward and Mr. Cole were work colleagues who had an arrangement regarding shared lifts to work. Cole would drive his motorbike and Coward would ride pillion in return for a weekly sum of money. Unfortunately both were killed in a road traffic accident and the wife of Mr. Coward made a claim for damages against the estate of Mr. Cole. However Cole＊s Insurance policy did not cover pillion passengers and as his estate had no assets or money to satisfy the judgment, Mrs. Coward pursued the Motor Insurance Bureau (MIB).

The MIB have an agreement whereby accidents and consequential claims would be satisfied by the Government in circumstances where the driver