Quimbee logo with url
From our private database of 15,100+ case briefs...

Adams v. Lindsell

Court of King’s Bench
106 Eng.Rep. 250 (1818)

Adams v. Lindsell

Facts

On September 2, 1817, Lindsell (defendant), a dealer in wool, set a letter to Adams (plaintiff), a manufacturer of wool, offering to sell Adams a certain amount of wool. The offer provided for acceptance by written notice sent through regular mail (“in course of post”). Based on the timing of sending the letter, Lindsell expected to receive a response from Adams by September 8th. Lindsell sent the letter to the wrong address, however, and Adams did not receive it until September 5th. That evening, Adams wrote an acceptance of the letter and mailed it back to Lindsell. Lindsell received Adams’ acceptance on September 9th. On September 8th, however, having not received an answer from Adams, Lindsell sold the wool it originally offered to Adams to a third party. Adams brought suit against Lindsell for breach of contract. The trial court held that Adams’ acceptance was valid when placed by Adams in the mail, and that any delay in receiving the acceptance was caused by Lindsell’s failure to send the initial offer to the correct address. The trial court entered judgment for Adams, and Lindsell appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Law, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 97,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Vanderbilt, Berkeley, and the University of Illinois—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students. Read our student testimonials.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students. Read more about Quimbee.

Here's why 287,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 15,100 briefs, keyed to 204 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Here's why 287,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners not other law students.
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet.
  • 15,100 briefs - keyed to 204 casebooks.
  • Uniform format for every case brief.
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language.
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions.
  • Top-notch customer support.