Analyzing the Validity of a Contract in Australian Business Law

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Running Head: BUSINESS LAW 0

BUSINESS LAW 1
Question 1
Through this essay, the scenario in the given case study will be analyses and explained with the
help of the existing law of contract. The main issue or the matter of discussion in the scenario is
the question that, what are the rights that are provided to Tommy and Buster Brady? There are
five principles under which a contract can be declared as a valid one under Australian contract
law and those are as follows (guides, 2019), The first one is the offer and acceptance made
between the two parties. Second is the consideration, the third one is the capacity to contract, the
fourth one is the intention and last is the certainty (Carter, 2011).
All the above elements meet together to form a lawful contract. The intention of the offeror is a
very essential fact for making an offer, an invitation to treat must be properly reflected. But if
there is only a declaration of preparedness to enter into negotiations, it cannot be considered as a
contractor cannot bind any party under itself. Similarly, in the given scenario Brady made an
offer for the public at large and it was open for acceptance by any individual out of the huge
public. By catching the required fish Tommy had accomplished the acceptance element of the
contract and had, therefore, become prime facie and entitled to the reward.
The consideration here was the reward money and it was also clear that both the parties were
also competent to enter into contracts (Monahan, 2001). Therefore from the above, it can be
settled that from the side of Tommy the contract was a valid one as all the essential elements of
the contracts are present. Thus due to the declared condition of willingness for negotiation by the
offeror that whether the proposer must be acknowledged or not forms the basic characteristics of
the contract and declares it as straightforward and unambiguous. The intention is a very essential
element that can help in binding the offer directly (Carter, 2013).

BUSINESS LAW 2
In the leading case of Partridge v Crittenden [1968] 2 All ER 421, it was very well determined
by the court that advertisements cannot be considered as an offer but it is a mere invitation to
treat and for this, the defendant cannot be held guilty. Likewise in the given case study, Buster
had also made an ad in the local newspaper, which was open for the public at large so it will be
considered as an invitation to treat. He just gave an advertisement which was not an offer for any
particular person. It was a general offer, which could have been accepted by any individual.
Tommy caught the exact fish for which the ad was made and as per it, he was entitled to the
rewards (Carter, 1994).
Whereas in the case of Carlill v. Carbolic Smoke Ball Co. 1 Q.B. 256 (Court of Appeal 1893),
the company had made an advertisement that if a person uses the product of the company will
never get ill and the one who still gets ill will be made available to refund (Vettori, 2016). Here
the plaintiff had used the product as per the given instruction but after that, she had undergone
the attack of Influenza. In this case, the court determined that the defendant will be held liable.
Thought it was an invitation ad that was made for the world at large and not for a particular
individual (Duke et al., 2016).
In the very same way in the given scenario also the facts were very alike the case of Carlill v.
Carbolic Smoke Ball Co. The offer was a unilateral one any nobody was bound to accept it as it
was made for the entire world, not any particular individual. The ad given by Buster suggests
that any person can claim the reward who catches the Big Joanna a 20 Kg Murray cod fish found
in the lake Kanchan. Tommy caught that without having any knowledge of the reward in the
given ad. Elements of a valid acceptance were fulfilled by Tommy immediately after catching
the fish in the same way as mentioned in the ad. Therefore following the rule made in the case of
Carlile Buster was bound to pay off the reward money to Tommy.