ABSTRACT

The plaintiff discussed with his nephew, John, the purchase by the plaintiff of a horse belonging to John. The plaintiff wrote to John saying: ‘If I hear no more about him, I consider the horse mine at £30 15s.’ John did not reply to this letter. Six weeks later, the defendant, an auctioneer who had been employed by John to sell his farming stock, sold the horse by mistake, having been told by John not to sell it because it was already sold (to the plaintiff). The plaintiff sued the auctioneer for the tort of conversion. To succeed he had to prove that he was the owner of the horse, which in turn involved proving that he had a valid contract for the purchase of the horse. Held: there was no contract for the sale of the horse because, among other things, the nephew had not communicated acceptance of his uncle’s offer. Mere mental assent was insufficient to form the contract.