Court: Court of Appeal
Fact
On Wednesday 10 June 1874 Mr Dodds offered to sell his house to Mr Dickinson for £800, he stated that the offer ‘ to be left open until Friday 9 am’.
On Thursday the defendant sold the house to a third party named Allan. The claimant heard about this through another third party called Berry. Nevertheless, before 9 am on Friday the Claimant handed the defendant his letter of acceptance. But the defendant said it was too late. Mr Dickinson sued for breach of contract.
Issue
Had the offer been withdrawn?
Judgment
No contract had been concluded between the parties. The offer had already been revoked by the communication from the third party.
Since the promise to keep the offer open for a period of time was not supported with consideration, there was no obligation to keep the offer open and the offeror can revoke the offer at anytime before acceptance. This statement supported in Routledge v Grant (1828) 4 Bing 635, 130 ER 920.
Note: The offer can be withdrawn at anytime before acceptance by the offeror or some other reliable sources. If the offer revoke through a third party the third party must be “objectively reliable”.
Legal Resources / UK Law 