Reference no: EM133214774
During the Great Singapore Sale, Tom, the owner of a boutique shop selling branded ladies' handbags, put out an advertisement in the papers. His advertisement stated that the first 2 customers at his shop on the following Sunday will be able to buy a Gucci bag, which normally costs S$6,637, at a special offer price of S$4,000, each. This offer was on a first-come-first-served basis.
Tracy was very excited about the offer. She asked her husband, Dennis, to queue up for her and to get her that bag at the offer price. Dennis did as he was told, and started queuing up at 7 am outside Tom's shop, even though the shop would only be opened at 10 am. A long queue formed behind Dennis. He was the first person to enter the shop when it opened. Tom told Dennis that he could not sell the handbag to him, as the offer was only for ladies to accept! Dennis argued that the advertisement did not state that the person queuing had to be female. Tom flatly refused.
Dennis came home empty-handed, and told Tracy what had happened. Tracy was very angry. She wants to sue Tom for failing to honour his offer.
Please explain your opinion in the following scenarios:-
a) Was there a valid and concluded contract that Dennis can sue upon? Please explain your answer in detail; if you are of the opinion that there was a contract, identify the various elements of the contract; if you think there was no contract, explain which element(s) is/are missing. Cite relevant case law.
b) Recognising the legal effects of actions, was Tom correct to insist that he would only sell to ladies?