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GDL Law Notes GDL Contract Law Notes

Intention To Create Legal Relation Notes

Updated Intention To Create Legal Relation Notes

GDL Contract Law Notes

GDL Contract Law

Approximately 560 pages

A collection of the best GDL notes the director of Oxbridge Notes (an Oxford law graduate) could find after combing through applications from top students and carefully evaluating each on accuracy, formatting, logical structure, spelling/grammar, conciseness and "wow-factor". In short these are what we believe to be the strongest set of GDL notes available in the UK this year. This collection of GDL notes is fully updated for recent exams, also making them the most up-to-date GDL study materials ...

The following is a more accessible plain text extract of the PDF sample above, taken from our GDL Contract Law Notes. Due to the challenges of extracting text from PDFs, it will have odd formatting:

  • Rose & Frank v Crompton Bros: Atkin LJ – ‘to create a contract there must be a common intention of the parties to enter into legal obligations, mutually communicated expressly or impliedly.’

Commercial Agreements: Presumption that parties intend to be legally bound

  • Well Barn Farming Lts v Backhouse: “Slight importance” / temporary nature of the agreement didn’t prevent the presumption from operating

    • Onus on the parties to rebut the presumption

  • Bunn & Bunn v Rees & Parker: Open to the parties to rebut: Here contract to sell a company-

    • Terms were typical of a share purchase agreement and were not so vague as to suggest there was no intention

    • Defendants failed to discharge evidential burden

  • Presumption can be rebutted with term “Binding in honour only

  • Successful ousing in Rose & Frank v Crompton Bros – “honourable pledge clause” – Agreement not legally binding

  • Edwards v Skyways: language – “ex gratia” not sufficient to rebut presumption – an employee was still able to enforce a promise to pay

  • There will be an objective assessment of the evidence to assess whether there has been a successful rebuttal (Baird Textile Holding v Marks & Spencer

  • Statements made in jest or anger – no intention to create legal relations

  • Adverts: no intention to create legal relations generally – but note Carbolic Smoke Ball c.f. Pepsico

    • Bowerman v Association of British Travel Agents: “notice” created direct contractual relationship with the public – satisfied criteria for a unilateral contract as was sufficiently clear

  • Esso Petroleum v CCE: “world cup coins” – did demonstrate an intention to be legally bound

  • Kleinwort v Malaysia: A comfort letter stating the current policy is not evidence of an intention to be legally bound

  • Provisions may stipulate no inference of intention to be legally bound – e.g. Trade Unions and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 – Agreements between Trade Unions and employees – assumed that there is no intention to create legal relations

“Subject to contract”: Where this is stated there is a strong inference against intention to crate legal relations

  • Judicial recognition of this phrase- means prima facie the document is not binding

  • Must be careful – if the exact wording isn’t used: Chillingworth v Esche

  • Exceptional case where there was rejection of the prima facie meaning – Alpenstow v Regalian Properties

Social and Domestic Agreement: Presumption that there is no intention to create legal relations

  • Until recently, pre-nups had little effect

    • Grenatine v Realmacher (2010) – first time pre-nup was upheld

  • Family:

    • Balfour v Balfour promise to pay wife30 per month was not legally binding – the consideration given was that of ‘love and affection

    • Merritt v Merritt: here the husband and wife were not living in amity so the contract was legally bindng

    • Jones v Padavatton: Mother/daughter – here there was no intention to create legal relations when a mother tried to evict her daughter (policy reasons)

  • ...

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