Commercial Law Elements Case Study 2022

Running head: COMMERCIAL LAW
COMMERCIAL LAW
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1
COMMERCIAL LAW
Answer 1
Issue
Whether Suzanne, Mike and Michelle have any claim in the prize money of the lottery
which Jack wants to take.
Rule
The contract is considered to be an agreement which is binding and enforceable by law.
There are certain essential elements which needs to be fulfilled if there arises the question of the
validity of a contract. The essential elements of a contract include that in a contract there needs
to be an offer and acceptance which needs to be made by the parties who are intending on
making a contract. If there is no offer by one party and an acceptance by the other then it cannot
be considered to be a valid contract. The second element of the contract is considered to be the
intention to form any kind of legal relation in the contract between the parties to a contract. If the
parties who are intending on being parties to a contract does not have any intention of creating
any kind of legal relation then it is not considered to be a valid contract. It can be observed in the
case of Balfour v Balfour [1919] 2 KB 5711. The third element that needs to fulfilled for a valid
contract would be consideration. The parties to the contract needs to perform certain conditions
which have been laid down in the contract and there needs to be fulfillment of those promises or
conditions. If there has been a breach in fulfilling the conditions then it is not considered to be a
valid contract. The fourth element is considered to be lawful capacity of a person to enter into a
contract. If the person is incapable then the contract is considered to be void.
1 Balfour v Balfour [1919] 2 KB 571.

2
COMMERCIAL LAW
Application
In the present case the family which consists of Mike, Suzanne, Michelle and Jack used
to be involved in lottery syndicate for years as part of the family tradition. Thus, the money
cannot be claimed by Jack as it is considered to be won by all as they had fulfilled the conditions
of the valid contract by intending to form legal relation and by making an offer and accepting it.
The family had also had lawful consideration where they had certain promises which needed to
be fulfilled and they were all capable of forming a valid contract such as it can be seen in the
case of Rose & Frank Co v JR Crompton & Bros Ltd [1924] UKHL 22. The contract is
considered to be an agreement which is binding and enforceable by law. There are certain
essential elements which needs to be fulfilled if there arises the question of the validity of a
contract. Thus, Jack cannot claim the prize money alone as it was won by the whole family as it
has been discussed in the above rule.
Conclusion
Therefore, from the above case, it can be comprehended that the prize money which was
won as a lottery can be claimed by the whole family and Jack cannot take the money away to
start a new life.
2 Rose & Frank Co v JR Crompton & Bros Ltd [1924] UKHL 2.