Henthorn v Fraser

Henthorn v Fraser [1892] 2 Ch 27 is a decision of the Court of Appeal of England and

Henthorn v Fraser
Wales dealing with the postal rule in English law of contract formation.

Contents
Facts
Judgement
Significance
See also
Court Court of Appeal of
England and Wales

Facts Decided 1892

Citation(s) 2 Ch 27
The defendant and the claimant were situated at Liverpool and Birkenhead respectively. The
Court membership
defendant called at the office of the claimant in order to negotiate the purchase of some
houses. The defendant handed the claimant a note giving him the option to purchase some Judge(s) Lord Herschell
houses within 14 days. On the next day, the defendant withdrew the offer by post, but his sitting
withdrawal did not reach the claimant until 5 P.M. Meanwhile, the claimant responded by Keywords
post with an unconditional acceptance of the offer, which was delivered to the defendant Contract law
after its office had closed. The letter was opened by the defendant the next morning.

Judgement
The Court of Appeal ordered that the claimant was entitled to specific performance. Lord Herschell argued: "Where the
circumstances are such that it must have been within the contemplation of the parties that, according to ordinary usage of
mankind, the post might be used as a means of communicating the acceptance of an offer, the acceptance is complete as soon as
it is posted."

Significance
The case is based on a line of decision starting with Adams v Lindsell (1818), according to which the acceptance was valid at the
time of posting. The importance of this decision's ratio is that a postal acceptance will only be valid at the time of posting if it is
reasonable for the offeror to expect an acceptance by post. The fact that both parties were living in different towns justifies the
inference that both parties had contemplated that a letter sent by post was a mode by which acceptance might be communicated
(per Kay L.J. at page 36)

See also
Offer and acceptance
Mailbox rule
Adams v. Lindsell
Dunlop v. Higgins
Household Fire Insurance Co v. Grant

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This page was last edited on 29 July 2019, at 18:49 (UTC).

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