Mailbox Rule Essay Example For Students

Mailbox Rule Essay Mailbox Rule Discussing Development Application of Mailbox Rule I. Introduction In the Common Law system, â€Å"the Mailbox Rule is an alternate term for the Postal Rule; when mailed, an acceptance of an offer to contract is valid from the moment it is deposited into a mailbox; on dispatch. † The Mailbox rule is an exception to the general rule that a contract is created when acceptance is directly communicated to the offeror. The mailbox rule provides that the contract is formed when the letter of acceptance is placed in the mailbox. This rule was established by the case of Adams v. Lindsell (1818) B Ald 68. In this case, Judge Law said that if that were true, it would be impossible to complete any contract through the post; if the defendants were not bound by their offer until the answer was received, then the plaintiffs would not be bound until they had received word that the defendants had received their acceptance, and this could go on indefinitely. Instead it must be considered that the offerers were making the offer to the plaintiffs during every moment that the letter was in the post . Later, the Mailbox rule was confirmed in Dunlop v Higgins (1848) 1 HL Cas 381 and Henthorn v Fraser . In addition, the Mailbox rule applies only to acceptance. In Household Fire Insurance Company v Grant (1879), the court ruled that the Mailbox rule only applies to acceptance. Later, the case of Stevenson v McLean (1880) 5 QBD 346 confirmed other contractual letters (such as the revoking offer) don’t take effect until the letter is delivered . As regards to this rule, we also need to pay attention to the fact that a letter is regarded as â€Å"posted† only when it is in the possession of the Post Office, which was established in the case of Re London Northern Bank 1 Ch 220. The letter must be put into the post box or the hands of someone authorized to collect not deliver mail, which means a letter of acceptance is not considered â€Å"posted† if it is handed to an agent to deliver, such as a courier . The Mailbox Rule is based on the theory that when an offer is sent by mail, the acceptance may also be allowed to be sent through the same medium, and because the offeree cannot control the mail when the acceptance is put into the mailbox, the contract will be formed when the acceptance is mailed. II. Drawbacks of Mailbox Rule 1. The Mailbox rule gives a heavier burden to the offeror. In modern business, the most significant advantage of the Mailbox rule is that this rule promotes the conclusion of the deal to be reached rapidly. However, based on the Mailbox rule, the offeror has to be restricted by the acceptance in the situation when they do not receive the acceptance. That means when the mail of acceptance is delayed or lost, the risk is shifted to the offeror, which was established by the case of Household Fire Insurance v Grant (1879) . That is too harsh to safeguard the interests of the offeror. 2. The Mailbox rule deprives the right of the offeree to withdraw the acceptance. As regards to the effectiveness of acceptance, there are two principles in modern law systems. In the Civil Law system, the effectiveness of acceptance follows to the Receipt rule , which allows the offeree to withdraw the acceptance only if the withdrawal of notification prior to the acceptance of the offer reached the offeror because the acceptance is effective only when it reaches the offeror. In the Common Law system, the effectiveness of acceptance conforms to the Mailbox rule. Under the Mailbox rule, the offeree has no right to withdraw the acceptance because the contract is created when the acceptance is mailed. Lord of the Flies Analysis EssayHowever, although the Mailbox rule has been improved expressly, how to correctly apply this rule is still a problem for parties of the contract because the Mailbox rule has become more complex than it was before and still has some drawbacks (there is no complete perfect law), such as if sending the acceptance before the rejection, the offeree cannot revoke the disadvantage acceptance. Certainly, requiring every party to exactly operate this rule is impossible. While if the parties follow basic several rules below, the risk of the Mailbox rule could be reduced expressly. 1. The establishment of modern contract law is based on the principle of party autonomy. The parties of a contract should fully use this rule, complying with Jus cogens. The offeror can set the Receipt rule in offers reasonably. The judge and court will respect the will of the parties as much as they can because parties’ will is the base of the contract. 2. The purposes of parties should be to promote the accomplishment of trade. The intention of modern contract law is to promote and protect the trade not limit and destroy the trade. Therefore, the judgment should benefit operating a trade. 3. The offerors and offerees should hold good faith during the processes of offer and acceptance under considering the circumstances with caution. Protecting the interests of parties with good faith is the basic principle of law. The court would consider the subjective intention. Generally, the developing trend of contract law is to respect the will of parties and encourage trade. Only if the parties express their trading will with a cautious attitude and good faith, will the drawbacks of Mailbox rule not be a barrier for creating a contract. Reference . Adams v. Lindsell (1818) http://www. west. et/~smith/Adams_v_Lindsell. htm . Netorked Knowledge – Contract Law Casenotes (Stevenson Jaques Co. v McLean (1880) 5 QBD 346 Queen’s Bench Division) http://netk. net. au/Contract/Stevenson. asp . Re London Northern Bank http://aquariumsupplies. co. za/bank6/re-london-and-northern-bank-1900. html . Court of Appeal, Household Fire Insurance v. Grant (1879) 4 Ex D 216 http://www. docstoc. com/docs/18606838/household-fire-insurance-v-grant-(1879)-4- ex-d-216/ . Teach an Old UCC Dog New Tricks http://www. abanet. org/buslaw/blt/2008-09-10/nicholas. shtml . CISG: Table of Contracting States ttp://www. cisg. law. pace. edu/cisg/countries/cntries. html . Holwell Securities v. Hughes http://instruct. uwo. ca/law/410-003/holwell. html . Contract (fourth edition), by Brian A. Blum, page76 http://books. google. com/books? id=Sdzvbez9Gx0Cpg=PA77lpg=PA77dq=mailbox+rule++rejection++offersource=blots=lthl8WwigZsig=ZzgITuOKKbntQboiqAGdhMygIXEhl=enei=b0bRS_OCLI2CNpDWpIMOsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=6ved=0CBUQ6AEwBTge#v=onepageq=mailbox%20rule%20%20rejection%20%20offerf=false . Contract Law – Reject of Offer http://www. lawofcontract. co. uk/formation/rejection-of-offer. php