The defendant even had its terms and conditions posted on its website. Nor should parties regard pleadings as assuming an amoeba-like nature, susceptible to constant reshaping. Added to his own purchases of 760 units, he was effectively responsible for the purchase of 1,090 laser printers. It does not purport to regulate e-commerce but attempts to facilitate the usage of e-commerce by equating the position of electronic records with that of written records, thus elevating the status of electronic signatures to that of legal signatures. 132 It can be seen from this brief excursus into the law of mistake that this is an abstruse area. The second plaintiff made an enquiry as to the terms and conditions governing purchases through the HP website while the fifth plaintiff was perusing the conditions of the Digilandmall website. From time to time they communicate with each other via the Internet and the short messaging system (sms). Even if it were to be held that there is now a general test of unconscionability applicable to all types of mistake, the plaintiffs contentions will not take them far. 60 Prior to placing his order, he was again contacted by the second plaintiff. Desmond: 13/01/20 01:43 coz the HP laser colour printer sells for at least 3 to 4k outside, Desmond 13/01/20 01:44 from US I heard is about USD 2k, Desmond 13/01/20 01:44 its HP and Laser and Coloured. The leading Canadian decision in this area is the case of McMaster University v Wilchar Construction Ltd (1971) 22DLR(3d) 9 which, incidentally, was cited with approval by the Australian High Court in Taylor v Johnson. By their own admission, they made Internet searches through various search engines to ascertain the profits they could make. CISG-online is a research platform dedicated to the law and practice of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods adopted in Vienna on 11 April 1980 (CISG), as well as related areas of international commercial law. Failure to do so could also result in calamitous repercussions. 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. 156 The plaintiffs claims are dismissed. The shopping cart website page carried the insertion call to enquire under the heading Availability of product. He has incorporated an Internet business Dreamcupid in which the second plaintiff has an interest. The case involved the sale of printers by the defendant at a price of S$66. The most recent and authoritative pronouncement in this area (per Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers in Shogun Finance Ltd v Hudson [2003] 3 WLR 1371 at [123]) states: A contract is normally concluded when an offer made by one party (the offeror) is accepted by the party to whom the offer has been made (the offeree). Singapore Comparative Law Review 2019 (SCLR 2019) - Issuu 39 The sequence of orders placed by the second plaintiff in the short space of an hour and a half deserves some mention. He appears to have been in constant communication with the second plaintiff and to have received and read the mass e-mail from the first plaintiff after he placed his first purchase order. Yong Pung HowCJ in, [T]he function of the court is to try as far as practical experience allows, to ensure that the, Tan Sok Ling, Malcolm Tan and Mohan Das Vijayaratnam (Tan S L and Partners) for plaintiffs; It appears there were a series of sms messages between them and at least a few telephone discussions while the purchases were being effected. Borneo United Sawmills Sdn Bhd v. MUI Continental Insurance Bhd (Marine insurance - Loss of goods - Claim for loss of goods under Marine Cargo Policy) [2009] 8 CLJ 217. 107 As the law now stands, mistakes that are not fundamental or which do not relate to an essential term do not vitiate consent. Chwee Kin Keong v Digilandmall.com Pte Ltd [2005] - YouTube Case law Chwee Kin Keong v Digilandmallcom Pte Ltd suggests that General Rule. 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. How could one seek to calculate the profit margin before finding out the true market price of the laser printer? I accept that this is capable of including circumstances in which a person refrains from or simply fails to make enquiries for which the situation reasonably calls and which would have led to discovery of the mistake. Pginas: 93: High Court - Suit n 202 of 2003. 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. When, however, the cases provoked by these factual situations are analysed, they will be seen to fall, not into three, but only two distinct legal categories. The caption in each of the e-mails Successful Purchase Confirmation from HP online says it all. In doing so, they appear to have also conflated equitable and common law concepts. 131 In a number of cases, including the present, it may not really matter which view is preferred. There is no question, however, that he placed the orders, that these orders were received by the HP website and that the same automated response sent to the other plaintiffs was sent out to him. They are all well-educated professionals articulate, entrepreneurial and, quite bluntly, streetwise and savvy individuals. Having expressed my views on consideration, I should also add for good measure that, in any event, there is ample consideration. Notwithstanding some real differences with posting, it could be argued cogently that the postal rule should apply to e-mail acceptances; in other words, that the acceptance is made the instant the offer is sent. The court held that the acceptance has been completed once it is posted although here, the defendants actually did not receive the letter before they sold it to someone else. Desmond: 13/01/20 01:41 u want it for profit or personal use? Mutual promises, by all accounts, on the basis of existing case law, more than amply constitute consideration. To that extent, his evidence that he subsequently dismissed the notion altogether is unacceptable. The decision ofV.K. The Question about Validity of Postal Rule - lawteacher.net Doctrines and Institutions of Responsible Government. The neutral citation of the case Chwee Kin Keong and others v Digilandmall.com Pte Ltd is as follows: This citation tells us that this was the 71st case in 2004 decided in the Singapore High Court. Though both of them admit to having had discussions about the website terms and conditions governing the purchases, they deny that there was any discussion between them on even the possibility of an error having taken place. The first plaintiffs riposte, should such a situation come to pass, was to sue them lor. 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. There is no merit at all in this contention. Mistakes are usually synonymous with the existence of carelessness on the part of the mistaken party. 78 In a Channel NewsAsia report datelined 15January 2003, it was reported that: Two of the customers, Mark Yeow and Malcolm Tan, have already spoken to their lawyers. It was listed at the price of $66, when it was advertised on the official HP website for $3,854. The e-mails sent at 2.34am were also captioned Go load it now! The other knows, or must be taken to know, of his mistake. E-mails are processed through servers, routers and Internet service providers. Others do not. Hwa Lai Heng Ricky v DBS Bank Ltd and another appeal and another The purpose of the amendments was merely to regularise the pleadings and indeed they went no further than to summarise evidence and submissions that had already been raised. The answer on the authorities is a mistake by one party of which the other knew or ought reasonably to have known. They have taken into account both the English and Australian authorities in distilling the jurisprudence in this area. The sixth plaintiff told his brother to order some for him, without specifying how many laser printers he wanted or how he intended to pay for the laser printers. Having noted all this, I am nevertheless inclined towards the views expressed in the, 131 In a number of cases, including the present, it may not really matter which view is preferred. The first issue dealt with references made by the plaintiffs to certain embargoed material. He claimed that he had not asked her to do the research and that she had done it independently. PDF Woo Kah Wai and another v Chew Ai Hua Sandra and another appeal Lord Griffiths in, 87 It appeared to me that the extract from, 88 The fact that the amending party has been tardy or even negligent is a factor that a court can (and in some egregious cases, should) take into account but this is by no means a decisive factor (, 95 The known availability of stock could be an important distinguishing factor between a physical sale and an Internet transaction. In these proceedings, it appears that the purchases made by the sixth plaintiff were not accompanied by a corresponding receipt of acceptances, as his e-mail inbox was full. In the absence of proper and full arguments on the issue of which rule is to be preferred, I do not think it is appropriate for me to give any definitive views in these proceedings on this very important issue. Certain Internet service providers provide the technology to inform a sender that a message has not been properly routed. He is currently self-employed and is intimately involved in the multi-level marketing sales of aromatherapy products under the Bel-Air label. The contract was held to be void because there was no consensus on the terms. The contract stands according to the natural meaning of the words used. To export a reference to this article please select a referencing stye below: This selection of essays, case summaries and dissertations is of relevance to law students within the Commonwealth and for those students who are studying the Rule of Law from outside the Commonwealth . He is also a director and shareholder in a company engaging in wholesale trade, together with the second and third plaintiffs. If he was prepared to commit this view in writing to a larger circle of 54 friends and business associates, 47 Not content with making his own purchases, he woke up his brother and transacted 330 units on his behalf. Disclaimer: This work was produced by one of our expert legal writers, as a learning aid to help law students with their studies. 1 In the early hours of the morning of 13January 2003, six friends, the plaintiffs in this case, placed orders over the Internet for 1,606 sophisticated Hewlett Packard commercial laser printers (the laser printer(s)). 101 The applicable rules in relation to transactions over the worldwide web appear to be clearer and less controversial. . After hearing their evidence, observing them and considering the submissions made on their behalf, there was no doubt in my mind that they were fully conscious that an unfortunate and egregious mistake had indeed been made by the defendant. Who bears the risk of such mistakes? (See for example the approach in, 142 The plaintiffs were bound by personal relationships as well as past and present common commercial interests. He graduated from NTU as a bachelor of business studies, specialising in financial analysis. If he was prepared to commit this view in writing to a larger circle of 54 friends and business associates after his communication with the second and third plaintiffs, he would certainly have shared this view with his close friends with even greater candour and detail. No cash had been collected. He classifies mistake in the following manner at 386: If attention is fixed merely on the factual situations, there are three possible types of mistake: common, mutual and unilateral.