Unresolved Legal Issues Pertaining to Unilateral Contracts Assessed Essay 1

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A Critical Analysis of the Legal Issues that need to be addressed before Codification of Unilateral Contracts Introduction: In Los Angeles Traction Co v Wilshere1 and Plumb v Campbell2, the judges involved lamented that it is only in unilateral contracts3, and no other domain in law where opinions and rules are marked by such a lack of clear thinking4. Famous cases dealing with unilateral contracts like Errington v Errington and Woods5, Daulia v Four Millbank Nominees6 and Williams v Carwardine7 seem to involve the courts taking decisions based on pragmatism and fairness, as opposed to a formal and logical application of the rules as in bilateral contracts8.This indicates that unilateral contracts are plagued with many a legal issue which needs to be addressed before proceeding with an all-encompassing step like codification. A contract is typically understood to contain an offer, an acceptance, consideration and the intention to create legal relations. However, this is a bilateral9 focussed paradigm, and difficulties relating to acceptance, revocation and the like emerge when attempting to force unilateral contracts into this structure.

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Los Angeles Traction Company v W. E. Wilshire 135 Cal 654 [1976]. Plumb v. Campbell 18 N. E. 790 [1888]. Unilateral Contracts, as opposed to bilateral contracts are contracts where one party

promises something to another in exchange for an act with this not resulting in the same effect as a promise, placing an obligation only on one party (Petroleum Research Corporation v. Barnsdall Refining Corporation, 188 Okla. 62 [1940]).

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I. Maurice Wormser, 'The True Conception of Unilateral Contracts' [1916] Yale L.J. 136,

136.

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Errington v Errington and Woods [1952] 1 All E.R. 149 (KB). Daulia Ltd v Four Millbanks Nominees [1978] 2 All E.R. 557 (EWCA Civ). Williams v Carwardine [1833] 110 E.R. 590 (KB). Richard Stone, The Modern Law of Contract (10th, Routledge, Oxon 2013) 75. Bilateral...