Part One

Issue

The question of whether Patrick is bound to the agreement for the purchase of the horse from Joanna depends on whether a legal contract existed between the two parties. For a contract to exist legally, the essential elements: intention, offer, acceptance and consideration, must be present. In the event that Patrick is not bound by the agreement, alternative remedies are considered.

Essential elements of a contract

Since Patrick was “interested in purchasing a valuable horse from Joanna”, there is a fair assumption that he was looking to enter into legal relations with Joanna to undertake a transaction.

Both offer and acceptance are presumed to have been present as the agreement to buy the horse was “signed”. This signals an express contract, where the terms of the agreement are clearly stated in written form on the document. Because the document is “signed” there is a general presumption that both parties have read and consented to the agreement and that the agreement is enforceable in a court of law.

The consideration of the contract is Patrick’s payment in exchange for Joanna’s horse Decibel delivered to him. In effect, there exists a bilateral contract between Patrick and Joanna that is legally enforceable in a court of law.

Misrepresentation

Although representations are pre-contract, remedies exist for misrepresentations which lead the parties to enter into contract which otherwise would not have. In Patrick’s case, it is debatable whether the fraudulent misrepresentations by Joanna concerning Decibel’s age and pedigree led Patrick to enter into contract to purchase Decibel. Because Patrick “loved it (Decibel) from the first moment he saw it”, it is not unlikely that he would have purchased the horse anyway regardless of what Joanna had to say. But it is without doubt that Joanna’s false representations of Decibel further