It appears there were a series of sms messages between them and at least a few telephone discussions while the purchases were being effected. The complainants argued that they were not aware that this price was a mistake and wanted the binding contract to be fulfilled. This e-mail was sent only after the first plaintiff had made his own Internet searches on the pricing of the laser printer. Not all one-sided transactions or bargains are improper. - Rebutting presumption: "The question [whether or not there is a binding contract] must depend on the As the reports contradict portions of their present evidence, they have indirectly tried to cast doubt on the accuracy of the reports in so far as the reports referred to them. The quintessential approach of the law is to, 106 In the Singapore context, the first port of call when confronted with issues of contract law is inevitably Professor Andrew Phangs treatise on. There are, however, other sound reasons to argue against such a rule in favour of the recipient rule. The plaintiffs could not coherently explain why neither they nor their lawyers had not attempted to correct the press reports at the material juncture. This is one of the first prominent case that deals with the issue of web based contract. The case of, The offer was wrongly expressed, and the defendants by their evidence, and by the correspondence, have satisfied me that the plaintiff, 116 The term snapping up was aptly coined by JamesLJ in, 117 It should be emphasised that this stream of authority is consistently recognised by all the major common law jurisdictions. The individualistic ethic seeks to maximise individual goals and the community ethic seeks to set norms for commercial morality and to ensure that fair dealing and community cohesiveness are observed and maintained. The plaintiffs were not being candid when they portrayed very limited exchanges between themselves, dealing allegedly with only the profits to be made and their ability to resell the laser printers. He then carried out some checks on the Yahoo search engine to ascertain whether the printer model existed and whether the laser printer could be sold at more than $66. The payment mode selected by the third plaintiff was cash on delivery. You may find the status of your order by calling us at (phone number given) Special instructions: Please call to advise delivery date and time. This view seems to suggest that principles of equity invariably provide an equally strong but more elastic second string to the bow. NZULR, vol. Cases of fraud and misrepresentation, and undue influence, are all catered for under other existing and uncontentious equitable rules. When giving evidence, he struck me as cautious, taking great pains to convey the impression that his numerous online enquiries that morning were routinely carried out without any real inkling that an error had occurred. There is often, but not inexorably, a co-relationship between the timing when the amendment is sought and the adverse consequences for the other party. It should be noted that while the common law jurisdictions continue to wrestle over this vexed issue, most civil law jurisdictions lean towards the recipient rule. The non-mistaken partys appreciation that there is no real offer on the contracts literal terms undermines the basis of the objective theory and necessarily imports the lack of subjective intention on the part of the mistaken party. Errors may incur wholly unexpected, and sometimes untoward, consequences as these proceedings so amply demonstrate. Caveat emptor remains a cornerstone of the law of contract and business relationships. The law will have to organically adapt itself to respond to new challenges without compromising on certainty and fairness. Civil Procedure Pleadings . Desmond: 13/01/20 01:25 I think one of the wrong posted price, Scorpio: 13/01/20 01:25 damn dont tell me they realised their error already, Scorpio: 13/01/20 01:32 shiok can make a quick profit by selling them cheap shd buy more. Imagine the effect of this negative publicity on your future sales! Such errors can be magnified almost instantaneously and may be harder to detect than if made in a face to face transaction or through physical document exchanges. He had left everything to his brother. This gives their courts a broad and elastic jurisdiction to deal with commercially inappropriate behaviour. 2 [2004] 2 SLR 594 ("the Digilandmall case") (The decision was very recently affirmed by the Singapore Court of Appeal in Chwee Kin Keong v Digilandmall.com Pte Ltd [2005] SGCA 2, albeit on somewhat different grounds and where the focus was on the law of unilateral mistake rather than formation of contract.)]. This judgment text has undergone conversion so that it is mobile and web-friendly. Leave was also given to the plaintiffs to adduce further evidence, if they so desired. The Canadian and Australian cases have moved along with the eddies of unconscionability. Rather they assist in explaining how the common law has incrementally and cautiously allowed and continues to mould exceptions to the application of the objective theory of contracts. This is to be contrasted with: Hare, Inequitable Mistake (2003) 62CLJ 29, Chandler et al, Common Mistake: Theoretical Justification and Remedial Inflexibility [2004] JBL 34. The Canadian and Australian cases have moved along with the eddies of unconscionability. In this case, there was no consensus ad idem or meeting of the minds between the parties, which meant that there could be no binding contract between them. Has an agreement been reached or not? This could account for the substantial number of Canadian cases in this area of the law. Upon accessing the Digilandmall website and confirming that the printer was offered there at $66 as well, he placed a further order for 25 laser printers through that website at about 3.29am. What amounts to snapping up is a question of degree that will incorporate a spectrum of contextual factors: what is objectively and subjectively known, the magnitude of the transaction(s), the circumstances in which the orders are placed and whether any unusual factors are apparent. The first plaintiffs riposte, should such a situation come to pass, was to sue them lor. This is a case about predatory pack hunting. Rules and case law pertaining to amendments are premised upon achieving even-handedness in the context of an adversarial system by: (a) ensuring that the parties apprise each other and the court of the essential facts that they intend to rely on in addressing the issues in controversy or dispute; (b) requiring that an amendment should be attended to in the usual course of events, at an early stage of the proceedings, to ensure that no surprise or prejudice is inflicted on or caused to opposing parties; (c) requiring careful consideration whether any amendments sought at a late stage of the proceedings will cause any prejudice to the opposing party. After further sms exchanges, the second plaintiff contacted the fifth plaintiff on his mobile phone, urging him to return home to access the e-mail message he had just sent. The plaintiffs assert they were not aware of the defendants mistake when they placed their orders, and had believed the offer was genuine. 26 It is clear from the priority status accorded to the e-mail that the first plaintiff was sharing his knowledge of a good deal. Pginas: 93: High Court - Suit n 202 of 2003. Furthermore, they relied on a passage from, At the trial leave to amend particulars will as a rule be refused (, 84 It is axiomatic that a court will generally be cautious if not reluctant to effect any amendments once the hearing has commenced; even more so once the evidential phase of the proceedings has been completed. In the context of its true market value the absurd price of $66 was almost the commercial equivalent of virtually giving away the laser printers. The present article analyses the many important issues that are raised by what is probably the first case on Internet mistake - the Singapore High Court decision of Chwee Kin Keong v Digilandmall.com Pte Ltd [2004] 2 SLR 594. It has been pithily said that the rules of procedure should be viewed as a handmaiden and not a mistress, to be slavishly followed. 2 Who is correct? reference was made by the court to "fraud or a very high degree of misconduct" before the non- mistaken party could be . In this case we have heard full argument, which has provided what we believe has been the first opportunity in this court for a full and mature consideration of the relation between Bell v Lever Bros Ltd [1932] AC 161 and Solle v Butcher. He sought to amend his affidavit and testified that if the references in his affidavit implied the acknowledgement of a mistake, they were formulated not by him but by his previous solicitors and were incorrect. 155 The Internet has revolutionised commerce and radically altered the manner in which commercial interaction currently takes place. The Instantaneous Transmission of Acceptances. In his initial affidavit he admitted wondering whether the price was a mistake after his first order was placed. 4, 1971, p. 331. Having said that, this exception must always be prudently invoked and judiciously applied; the exiguous scope of this exception is necessary to give the commercial community confidence that commercial transactions will almost invariably be honoured when all the objective contractual indicia are satisfied. Chwee Kin Keong and Others v Digilandmall.com Pte Ltd [2005] SGCA 2 Civil Procedure Costs , Civil Procedure Pleadings , Contract Mistake Decision Date: 13 Jan 2005 . Before dealing with the point of real substance, it is appropriate to briefly deal with two of the less meritorious contentions advanced. It appears to suggest that even if an offer is snapped up, the contract is not void. The fifth plaintiff was also a member of this bridge group. Lord Phillips of Worth MatraversMR observed in a withering analysis at [156], [157], [160] and [161]: Thus the premise of the equitys intrusion into the effects of the common law is that the common law rule in question is seen in the particular case to work injustice, and for some reason the common law cannot cure itself. In light of this, the parties did not address me on the issue of when the contract was formed, though this appears to be a relevant issue depending on which rule is adopted. Though the six plaintiffs accounted for only 18 of these purchase orders, they figure prominently among the 11 individuals who ordered more than 50 laser printers. A prospective purchaser is entitled to rely on the terms of the web advertisement. The first and fifth plaintiffs ordered exactly a hundred laser printers each. When pressed why he asked MsToh to do this research, the fifth plaintiffs response was unsatisfactory. The affidavits did not add anything new. The court found that parties when . But that, surely, is a question as to where the common law should draw the line; not whether, given the common law rule, it needs to be mitigated by application of some other doctrine. When notified and satisfied that this transaction was successful as well, he placed a final order at 4.21am for ten laser printers on the HP website, charging this to his credit card.