Editing Adams v. Lindsell

{{Infobox Case Brief
|court=High Court of Justice, King's Bench Division
|citation=106 Eng.Rep. 250
|date=1818
|subject=Contracts
|facts=Before 1800, parties signed a contract face-to-face. By the early 1800s, making & accepting [[Contracts/Offer|offer]]s by mail was becoming commonplace.

On September 2nd 1817, Mr. Lindsell mailed a letter to Mr. Adams who was a wool manufacturer.

Defendant (Lindsell) sent, by mail, an offer to sell wool. Due to Defendant's negligence, the offer was received late. 

Plaintiff (Adams) immediately accepted on September 5th 1817 & replied via mail.

Lindsell received the Adams mailed reply on September 9th. Defendant (Lindsell) had already sold wool on September 8th.

{{{!}} class="wikitable"
{{!}}+
!Date
!Action
{{!}}-
{{!}}September 2nd 1817
{{!}}Lindsell (seller of wool) mailed a offer letter to Adams (wool manufacturer & buyer).
{{!}}-
{{!}}September 5th 1817
{{!}}Adams received the letter
{{!}}-
{{!}}September 5th 1817
{{!}}Plaintiff (buyer Adams) immediately accepted to buy a large quantity of sheep wool on September 5th 1817
{{!}}-
{{!}}September 5th 1817
{{!}}Adams replied via mail
{{!}}-
{{!}}September 7th 1817
{{!}}Lindsell (seller) hasn't heard from Adams (buyer)
{{!}}-
{{!}}September 8th 1817
{{!}}Lindsell sold the wool to another buyer (not Adams)
{{!}}-
{{!}}September 9th 1817
{{!}}Lindsell (seller) received the acceptance letter
{{!}}}

|procedural_history=Adams (buyer of wool; plaintiff) sued Lindsell (seller of wool) for money damages.

Adams (wool manufacturer & buyer) won in the trial court.
|issues=Was Plaintiff's (Adams) purported acceptance actually an acceptance?

Is an offer accepted when the offeree (buyer Adams) places a  letter of acceptance in the mail?
|arguments=Defendant Lindsell (seller of wool) argued that no contract had been formed because he hadn't received the reply from Adams (buyer of wool; plaintiff).
|holding=Yes, Plaintiff had accepted.


An offer made via the postal system is properly accepted when the offeree places a letter accepting the offer in the mail.
|reasons=There was a "meeting of the minds" as soon as Plaintiff posted his acceptance in the mail.

Lord Ellenborough: The letter of acceptance needn't actually be received by the offeror (Lindsell).
|rule=The [https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/mailbox_rule mailbox rule] states that acceptance takes effect as soon as a letter stating such is posted.
|case_text_links={{Infobox Case Brief/Case Text Link
|link=https://www.quimbee.com/cases/adams-v-lindsell
|source_type=Video summary
|case_text_source=Quimbee
}}
}}