Law Beat - Quiz #4

Learning the Law Series - Part 4

Offer and Acceptance - A few last points about Offers.

Jack and Jill decided to have dinner together to talk out their problems. Jack was still upset that Jill had purchased a home that Jack believed they had decided to buy together. After a messy law suit, that Jack ultimately lost, Jill extended an olive branch and ask Jack over for dinner. By this time Jill had started dating a man named Socrates who Jill had invited to dinner as well. At dinner, Jill asked Jack whether he still wanted to live with Jill and whether he would buy one-half interest in the house for $200,000. (Jill only paid $250,000 for the whole house. Quite an expensive olive branch if you ask me.) The time to accept was open ended. Jack said that he would consider the offer and get back to her about the offer. The next day, Jill was walking her dog named Plato (Jill obviously loves Greek names.) Plato was feeling restless and decided to break off from his leash and disappear, leaving Jill quite distraught. Jill called the police and offered a $100 reward for the return of our dog.

Jack decided to accept Jill's offer and decided to head over to Jill's house to let her know that. On the way, Jack found Jill's dog Plato and carried him over to Jill's house. Jill was forever grateful. Socrates was at the house at the time. Upon learning that Jack had returned Plato, Socrates told Jack about the $100 reward. Jack was unaware of the reward but said that he would be happy to accept it. Jill refused to give Jack the reward on the grounds that she didn't intend to give a reward to her relatives but only to strangers.

Well I think we know what happened. Jack got upset and left her house. Jill told Socrates to catch up with Jack and tell him that her offer to sell the house was no longer available for Jack's acceptance. Socrates never reached Jack.

Now you be the judge:

Will Jack be entitled to claim the reward?
(a) No because Jill never intended her relatives to be eligible to receive the reward.
(b) No because Jack never knew of the reward and in law could not have intended to accept the offer.
(c) Yes because despite not knowing of the reward, he did fulfill the terms.
(d) Yes because Plato was an awful dog and Jill should be happy that anyone would return the dog.
Would Jack be entitled to enforce the reward if he had been aware of offer of the reward and Jill had revoked her offer before Jack returned Plato?
(a) Yes since Jack was not aware of Jill's revocation of the reward.
(b) Yes since Jack still fulfilled the terms of the reward despite Jill's revocation.
(c) No because Jill was entitled to revoke her offer at any time before acceptance in which case one could not enforce his or her acceptance.
(d) No because Jill has a right to not pay when she decides not to.
Will Jack be entitled to force Jill to sell one-half of the house on the terms of the original offer?
(a) No because Jill had revoked the offer through Socrates.
(b) No because Jill can change her mind since the offer was never in writing.
(c) No because contracts between relatives are not binding.
(d) Yes because Jill had intended the offer to be legally binding and Jill's revocation never reached Jack.
What if Jack accepted Jill's offer one month after Jill's offer. Would Jack be entitled to enforce the sale of one-half of house?
(a) No because Jack's offer would be too late.
(b) No because offers with no specified time periods for acceptance end 15 days after the offer is made.
(c) Yes because an offer with no specified time period can be accepted within a reasonable time.
(d) No because an offer with no specified time period can be accepted within a reasonable time but a reasonable time for a house offer is only a couple of days.

The principles of law presented in these articles are based on Canadian law. However, the information provided by the Fraud Bureau in this Law Beat series is not legal advice nor conveyed in the course of an solicitor/attorney-client relationship, but is intended merely as general information related to common legal issues. Your access to this article is subject to the Terms of Use and Disclaimer. You are not to rely upon this article for the basis of any decision you wish to make. If you have specific legal problem or question, please contract your legal advisor for specific legal advice relating to your question or problem.