Contract Law: Mailbox Rule
Is a given type of communication effective when it is dispatched or when it is received? These rules were first established when the basic modes of communication were either face-to-face, by snail mail, and somewhat later telephone or telegram. The traditional rule surrounding the before mentioned modes of communication is that a communication is effective when received.
Mailbox Rule:
For face-to-face communication, offer, acceptance, and revocation are likewise effective when received. Restatement 2d §64 applies a similar rule to “telephones or other medium of substantially instantaneous two-way communication.” However, if the acceptance is through a non-instantaneous medium, such as regular mail, acceptance is effective when dispatched, unless otherwise specified by the offeror. This rule is known as the “mailbox rule,” and its first exposition was in the English case, Adams v. Lindsell, 1 Barn. & Ald. 681 (K.B. 1818).
In other words:
- An offer, or revocation of an offer is effective only when it is received by the offeree
- However, in non-instantaneous communication, acceptance of an offer is effective when dispatched (or postmarked)
Examples of the application of the mailbox rule:
- Crossed Revocation and Acceptance
- Delay or Failure of Transmission
- The Date of Contractual Liability
- Interpretation of the Offer
Technology has brought with it new modes of communication. The most novel being communication through the internet, whether those communications be specifically email, instant messaging, or otherwise. Legalities surrounding offer and acceptance through newer modes of communication are explored in Offer, Acceptance & the Internet.
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[...] of acceptance is described with more detail in Transacting at a Distance: Mailbox Rule. Generally, acceptance takes effect when the intention of the offeree is delivered. This is [...]