''Gibbons v Proctor''
891
Year 891 ( DCCCXCI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* February 21 – Guy III, duke of Spoleto, is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Ste ...
64 LT 594 (also reported as ''Gibson v Proctor'' 55 JP 616), 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 that deals with an offer, via advertisement, and whether or not a person who did not know of the offer can accept the offer if he completes the conditions of the offer.
Facts
The police put up an advertisement stating that they would pay for information leading to the arrest of a criminal. The advertisement stipulated that the information must be given to the Superintendent. A police officer asked a colleague to forward some useful information to the Superintendent but he was not aware of the offer at the time when he spoke with his colleague. Before the information reached the Superintendent, the police officer became aware of the offer. It was held that the officer was entitled to claim the reward.
Judgment
This case held that advertisements which offer a reward for information which leads to the arrest or conviction of the perpetrator of a crime are to be treated as offers, as the intention to be bound is inferred from the fact that no further bargaining is expected to result from them.
The case is sometimes wrongly cited as authority for the proposition that acceptance in ignorance of an offer is effective. A better authority for this proposition is the Australian case of
R v Clarke
''R v Clarke'',. is court case decided by the High Court of Australia in the law of contract.
Facts
Evan Clarke tried to claim the reward of £1000 for giving information that led to the conviction of a murderer, Treffene, of two policemen c ...
. This case is a weak authority for this proposition because the party claiming reward possessed full knowledge of the offer by the time the offer was accepted; in cases such as this, acceptance is only effective when the prescribed action had been completed, i.e. when information reaches the offeror.
[Andrew Burrows, 'A Casebook on Contract' (4th edn, Hart Publishing 2013) at page 46]
See also
*''
Williams v Carwardine''
*''
R v Clarke
''R v Clarke'',. is court case decided by the High Court of Australia in the law of contract.
Facts
Evan Clarke tried to claim the reward of £1000 for giving information that led to the conviction of a murderer, Treffene, of two policemen c ...
''
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibbons V Proctor
1891 in case law
1891 in British law
English agreement case law