Arnold wrote to Ben offering to sell him a consignment of goods. In the letter he advised Ben to telephone his decision to Cecilia, Arnold’s wife. Explain whether there is a valid contract between Arnold and Ben in the following situations: i) Ben does not telephone Cecilia but writes to Arnold accepting his offer. ii) Ben sends a telex to Arnold accepting the offer.

Arnold wrote to Ben offering to sell him a consignment of goods. In the letter he advised Ben to telephone his decision to Cecilia, Arnold’s wife. Explain whether there is a valid contract between Arnold and Ben in the following situations:
i) Ben does not telephone Cecilia but writes to Arnold accepting his offer.
ii) Ben sends a telex to Arnold accepting the offer.

ANSWER
(i) This problem is based on communication of acceptance.

• As a general rule, the mode of effecting acceptance is immaterial so long as the offeror receives the same.
• In this case it appears that there is a contract between Arnold and Ben as Ben writes to Anold accepting the offer, provided the letter was actually received Arnold.

(ii) In the second instance, there is a contract between Ben and Arnold as Ben communicated acceptance telex and to the extent that Arnold received the same, there is a valid contract between the two.

Arnold wrote to Ben offering to sell him a consignment of goods. In the letter he advised Ben to telephone his decision to Cecilia, Arnold’s wife. Explain whether there is a valid contract between Arnold and Ben in the following situations: (i) Ben does not telephone Cecilia but writes to Arnold accepting his offer (ii) Ben sends a telex to Arnold accepting the offer
A contract of sale of goods sample between Ben and Sally provided that payment of the goods was to be made on arrival against the shipping documents. Ben, who is the buyer, paid for the goods before he had the opportunity to examine the goods. Later, on examinations, Ben found that the bulk of the goods did not correspond with the sample. Explain in detail whether Ben can reject the goods.
Company law May 2018 Past question Paper and answers
Charlie Kabue has discovered that Ray Matata has rented out the room used as a store of the shop to Ben Chege. Moreover, Ray Matata is in rent arrears. Mr. Charlie Kabue is aggrived and seeks your advice on the remedies available to him. Advise him.
Mr. A, a car dealer sells second hand cars. On Thursday last week, he placed an advertisement in a daily newspaper which stated the following: “Once in a lifetime, opportunity to own a one year old Nissan Caravan, low mileage, Kshs.500,000 cash. The offer is valid for only one day and the car will go to the first person who accepts it.” When Mr. B saw the advertisement, he immediately posted a letter of acceptance of Mr. A‟s offer. Mrs. C also saw the advertisement and came to inspect the car after which Mrs. C offered Mr. A a cheque of Kshs. 500,000. However, Mr. A refused to accept the cheque stating that another potential buyer had already offered to buy the car. Later in the day Ms D, another interested buyer telephoned Mr. A informing him that she was willing to buy the car but asked Mr. A if he would keep the offer open until she could go to her bank to obtain a loan. Mr. A accepted the request. However later, in the day, Mr. E, another potential buyer said that he would pay Sh. 600,000 in cash for the car. Mr. A agreed to sell the car to Mr. E. On Monday morning, Mr. A received Mr. B‟s letter of acceptance. At the same time, Mr. E returned to complete the transaction. However, in the afternoon Mr. E telephoned Mr. A to say that he had second thoughts and he no longer wished to purchase the car. Citing relevant decided cases where applicable, explain the legal principles in the case in relation to: (a) Mr. A (4 marks) (b) Mr. B (4 marks) (c) Mrs. C (4 marks) (d) Ms. D (4 marks) (e) Mr. E (4 marks)
It is always necessary to communicate acceptance of an offer to the other party to the contract. Explain whether or not you agree with the above statement

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