Hyde v Wrench

Hyde v Wrench [1840] EWHC Ch J90 is a leading English contract law case on the issue of counter-offers and their relation to initial offers. In it Lord Langdale ruled that any counter-offer cancels the original offer.

Hyde v Wrench
CourtRolls Court
Full case nameHyde v Wrench
Decided8 December 1840
Citation(s)[1840] EWHC Ch J90, [1840] 3 Bea 334, [1840] 49 ER 132
Court membership
Judge(s) sittingLord Langdale
Keywords
offer, counter-offer

Facts

Wrench offered to sell his farm in Luddenham to Hyde for £1200, an offer which Hyde declined. On 6 June 1840 Wrench wrote to Hyde's agent offering to sell the farm for £1000, stating that it was the final offer and that he would not alter from it.[1] Hyde offered £950 in his letter by 8 June, and after examining the offer Wrench refused to accept, and informed Hyde of this on 27 June.[2] On the 29th Hyde agreed to buy the farm for £1000 without any additional agreement from Wrench, and after Wrench refused to sell the farm to him he sued for breach of contract.[2]

Judgment

Lord Langdale's judgment read:

Under the circumstances stated in this bill, I think there exists no valid binding contract between the parties for the purchase of this property. The defendant offered to sell it for £1000, and if that had been at once unconditionally accepted there would undoubtedly have been a perfect binding contract; instead of that, the plaintiff made an offer of his own, to purchase the property for £950, and he thereby rejected the offer previously made by the defendant. I think that it was not afterwards competent for him to revive the proposal of the defendant, by tendering an acceptance of it; and that, therefore, there exists no obligation of any sort between the parties.[2]

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See also

References
  1. Hyde v Wrench [1840] EWHC J90 (Ch) (8 December 1840), High Court (England and Wales)
  2. Beale (2002) p.227

Further reading
  • Beale, Hugh; Arthur Hartkamp; Hein Kotz; Denis Tallon (2002). Cases, Materials and Texts on Contract Law. Hart Publishing.
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