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Florida District Court of Appeal - 155 So. 2d 889
Tags: Contracts, Acceptance, Mailbox rule
tl;dr:
Sellers signed a contract agreeing to sell their home to the buyers and sent it to the buyers by mail. But before the buyers received the contracts, the sellers called the buyers and said they had changed their minds.Video Summary
Case Summary
In the 1963 case of Morrison v. Thoelke, the Florida District Court of Appeal overturned a decision in favor of a landowner who agreed to sell his property to a buyer but then backed out before the buyer received the signed document. This case highlights the application of the "mailbox rule" in contract formation.
The court determined that the landowner's signed document was an offer that the buyer could accept by sending a check as earnest money. The acceptance was valid as soon as it was mailed, not when it was received. Since the landowner revoked the offer after the buyer had already accepted, the revocation was deemed invalid.
Furthermore, the court dismissed the landowner's argument that there was no consideration for the offer. The case demonstrates that an offer can be accepted by mailing a check without directly informing the person making the offer, and that acceptance is effective once the payment is placed in the mail. The case also shows that courts will enforce contracts if there is consideration and mutual agreement between both parties.
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The case involves an appeal against a summary decree that prevented the defendants from making any claim under a recorded contract for the sale of real estate. The main issue raised in the appeal was whether a contract is complete and binding when a letter of acceptance is mailed or when the letter of acceptance is received. The lower court's decision was proper as the disputed facts were immaterial under the appellees' view of the cause. The US Postal Regulations give the right to recall mail before delivery, allowing one to repudiate a signed and mailed document that hasn't yet been received. The contract's finalization and payment's effectiveness are determined by the agreement, and the parties are expected to have a clear understanding of the rules and regulations of the Post Office Department. The "deposited acceptance" rule is flawed but not necessarily invalid, and a change in postal regulations does not automatically affect the validity of the rule established in Adams v. Lindsell. The cases relied upon by the appellee are not authority for rejecting the rule. Criticism should be directed towards the practical and theoretical basis of the rule relied upon by its advocates, rather than arguments from loss of control, agency, and waiver.
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