Disclaimer: This work was produced by one of our expert legal writers, as a learning aid to help law students with their studies.

Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not reflect the views of LawTeacher.net. Any information contained in this case summary does not constitute legal advice and should be treated as educational content only.

Storer v MCC 1974

269 words (2 pages) Case Summary

07 Mar 2018 Case Summary Reference this LawTeacher

Jurisdiction / Tag(s): UK Law

Legal Case Summary

Storer v Manchester City Council [1974] 1 WLR 1403

FORMATION OF CONTRACT

Facts

The defendant City Council refused to proceed with the sale of a council property to the claimant under an arrangement which had been agreed with its predecessor. All of the terms of the contract had been agreed but for the date on which the lease was to end and the mortgage payments were to begin, which had been left blank on the form returned to the defendant by the claimant. The claimant alleged that the contract was completely concluded and sought specific performance of the agreement.

Issue

The question was whether the contract had been concluded, despite the fact that the date on which the claimant became a purchaser rather than a tenant was still to be determined.

Decision/Outcome

The Court of Appeal held that the contract was complete despite the absence of this term. In distinguishing between an offer and an invitation to treat, it is necessary to look. not to the subjective intentions or beliefs of the parties, but rather on what their words and conduct might reasonably and objectively be understood to mean. In this case the defendant had made clear by their conduct and language that they intended to be bound upon the acceptance of the offer despite the fact that some terms remained to be agreed. In the words of Lord Denning MR:

“In contracts, you do not look into the actual intent in a man’s mind. You look at what he said and did. A contract is formed when there is, to all outward appearances, a contract” (p. 827).

LawTeacher

LawTeacher

LawTeacher.net is the UK's leading provider of academic legal support, offering both writing services and an extensive collection of law study resources for students in the UK and overseas.

Founded in 2003 by Grey's Inn graduate Barclay Littlewood, the Company was built on a commitment to excellence, with unique guarantees and a high standard of service from day one.

The team includes over 500 UK legally qualified writing experts, with many practising solicitors and barristers, and several former lecturers.

Areas of Legal Expertise

Contract Law Criminal Law Constitutional and Administrative Law EU Law Tort Law Property Law Equity and Trusts Jurisprudence Company Law Commercial Law Family Law Human Rights Law Employment Law Evidence Public International Law Legal Research and Methods Dispute Resolution Business Law and Practice Civil Litigation Criminal Litigation Professional Conduct Taxation Wills and Administration of Estates Solicitors’ Accounts

Cite This Work

To export a reference to this article please select a referencing stye below:

Reference Copied to Clipboard.
Reference Copied to Clipboard.
Reference Copied to Clipboard.
Reference Copied to Clipboard.
Reference Copied to Clipboard.
Reference Copied to Clipboard.
Reference Copied to Clipboard.

Related Services

View all

Related Content

Jurisdictions / Tags

Content relating to: "UK Law"

UK law covers the laws and legislation of England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Essays, case summaries, problem questions and dissertations here are relevant to law students from the United Kingdom and Great Britain, as well as students wishing to learn more about the UK legal system from overseas.

Related Articles

Prices from

£ 99

Estimated costs for: Undergraduate 2:2 • 1000 words • 7 day delivery

Place an order

Delivered on-time or your money back

Reviews.co.uk Logo (292 Reviews)

Rated 4.2 / 5

Give yourself the academic edge today

Each order includes

  • On-time delivery or your money back
  • A fully qualified writer in your subject
  • In-depth proofreading by our Quality Control Team
  • 100% confidentiality, the work is never re-sold or published
  • Standard 7-day amendment period
  • A paper written to the standard ordered
  • A detailed plagiarism report
  • A comprehensive quality report