Problem
I. Friday evening after closing. Sackett's Appliances placed an ad in its window: This weekend only, five Whirlwind dishwashers, reduced from $1199 to $599! Shop early!" Martens saw the ad later that evening. She appeared the next morning at 9:00 a.m. when Sackett's opened its doors and stated to the clerk she would take one of the Whirlwind dishwashers. The clerk replied that the ad was a mistake; the price should have been $999. Martens demanded to speak with the manager and insisted on Sackett's Honouring its offer to sell at $599. The manager said, "I'm sorry, madam, but that machine us more than 5$00. We cannot sell it at $599. Martens said Sackett's was in breach of contract and she would see her lawyer about it.
Is Martens right? Explain.
II. Garrett is the manager of Aristo Condos Inc. and is in charge o! selling vacant units in the Aristo Towers. On October 4, Heilman examined several of the units with Garrett and said he thought the prices a bit high but would think about it. Several days later, on October 7, Garrett sent Heilman an email stating, "I will sell you any one of the units we examined together numbers 14, 236, 238, or 307) for $275 000. I am sending you all the details by courier." Garrett then sent by courier to Heilman a formal offer containing all of the necessary terms, including the required down payment and acceptable mortgage financing.
Later that day after he had received the email message, but before he had received the letter, Heilman emailed Garrett, "I accept your offer with respect to unit 307.
Has a binding contract been formed by Garrett's email? In what circumstances might this question become the basis of a dispute between the parties?
III. Purcell was in failing health and advertised to sell his retail computing equipment business. Quentin was familiar with Purcell's business operations; he sent Purcell a detailed offer to buy for $450 000, paying $75 000 as a cash down payment, with the balance payable in instalments over two years. Purcell promptly sent an email to Quentin stating: The price and all the other terms seem last, except fair need substantially more cash by way of down payment--say, $125 000. Tell me how high you are willing to go. Quentin replied by email, "There is no way I can increase the cash payment.
Purcell replied the next day, "Okay. I've thought about it, and given the state of my health, I have decided to accept your offer." By then, Quentin had heard that the business had suffered because of Purcell's declining health, and he refused to go through with the purchase. He asserted that since Purcell had refused his offer, there was no deal.
Is Quentin right? Has Purcell any basis for claiming there is a binding contract with Quentin?