Nor could he satisfactorily explain why he initially made the Internet searches to ensure the offer was genuine. 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. Thus, while the idea of snapping up may well apply in cases one side is aware of the other sides error, I do not think it can be applied literally in the constructive knowledge cases. Judgments >> CA Similar works. The same view is echoed in Halsburys Laws of Singapore vol7 (Butterworths Asia, 2000) at [80.164]. It had consciously not inserted any limits to the number of products a buyer could purchase again, quite clearly, to solicit more business. The terms of the offer are clear and unambiguous and the offeree accepts the offer according to its true sense, but it must have been obvious (and known by the offeree) that the offeror did not intend to make an offer in those terms. Once again, however, this does not deprive E of his legal remedies; nor does it avail V if he wishes to recover property which he may have transferred under the contract. Whether the parties have reached agreement on the terms is not determined by evidence of the subjective intention of each party. He was also involved in initiating the Channel NewsAsia report (see [78] and [79] infra). The reason for this inconsistent conduct surfaced later. There could be different considerations. 53 He claimed that seeing the same price on the Digilandmall website confirmed his view that there had been no mistake. 82 The plaintiffs strenuously opposed the defendants amendments principally on the ground it was made at a late juncture. 89 In the circumstances, I had little hesitation in allowing the amendments sought by the defendant. 58 The fifth plaintiff was first informed by the second plaintiff at about 2.30am about cheap laser printers being available for purchase. In any event, it does not appear that she disclosed the whole truth of what she knew. The recipient rule appears to be the logical default rule. There cannot be any legitimate expectation of enforcement on the part of the non-mistaken party seeking to take advantage of appearances. I invited both parties to indicate if they wished to amend their pleadings. That is sufficient in these circumstances. 33 After his first order, the second plaintiff contacted the fourth and fifth plaintiffs informing them about the laser printers. Case Update: B2C2 Ltd v Quoine Pte Ltd [2019] SGHC(I) 3; Quoine v B2C2 122 For now it appears that a mistaken party can have two bites at the cherry. It appears that in Convention transactions, the receipt rule applies unless there is a contrary intention. He held that the Written Offer was accepted by the . 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. Chwee Kin K eong and others . . The terms of the offer are clear and unambiguous and the offeree accepts the offer according to its true sense, Although a mistaken party will not often be able to discharge the onus of showing that the other party, 118 The Canadian courts have been the most active common law courts explicating and developing this area of the law. Their conduct in pursuing their claims cannot by any stretch of the imagination be characterised as having the slightest colour of being legitimate regardless of whether the subjective or objective theories are applied and whether common law or equity is applied in adjudicating this matter. It appears that it wanted to leave no stone unturned and had therefore mounted a root and branch attack on the plaintiffs claims. They contended that the entire ICQ conversation, infused with such a jocular tone, should be disregarded. There cannot be any legitimate expectation of enforcement on the part of the non-mistaken party seeking to take advantage of appearances. A prospective purchaser is entitled to rely on the terms of the web advertisement. Has an agreement been reached or not? 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; The payment mode opted for was cash on delivery. Examples of such mistakes would include (a)human error (b)programming of software errors and (c)transmission problems in the communication systems. Case Note: Singapore | Digital Evidence and Electronic Signature Law Review The defendant is therefore entitled to recover in full its taxed costs from the plaintiffs. Furthermore, they relied on a passage from Singapore Civil Procedure 2003 (Sweet & Maxwell Asia, 2003) at para20/8/47 that asserts: At the trial leave to amend particulars will as a rule be refused (Moss v Malings (1886) 83ChD 603). Why? 36 The second plaintiff was the key person and pivotal in the entire chain of events. The price of the laser printer, prior to 3.36pm on 8January 2003, was stipulated as $3,854 (exclusive of GST) on both the Digilandmall and HP websites (the websites), and as $3,448 on the Digiland commerce website. The Vienna Sales Convention (the Convention) applies in Singapore as a consequence of the Sale of Goods (United Nations Convention) Act (Cap283A, 1996Rev Ed). In terms of chronological sequence, the initial page accessed was the shopping cart, followed by checkout-order particulars, checkout-order confirmation, check-out payment details and payment whether by cash on delivery or by credit card. How do I Locate Case Law?: Case Names & Citations Secondly, widening the scope of mistake, unilateral or otherwise, under the rubric of equitable mistake will, with its malleability, only encourage uncertainty and litigation. Arrival can also be immaterial unless a recipient accesses the e-mail, but in this respect e-mail does not really differ from mail that has to be opened. 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. There are many different shades of sharp practice or impropriety. 48 The third plaintiff annexed to his affidavit the transcript of the Channel NewsAsia report where he was quoted. Case law chwee kin keong v digilandmallcom pte ltd. School Nanyang Technological University; Course Title ACC 1301; Uploaded By saint_huimin. The credit card payments had not been processed. Errors may incur wholly unexpected, and sometimes untoward, consequences as these proceedings so amply demonstrate. He also called the first plaintiff to see if the latter had managed to successfully complete his purchase. This e-mail was sent only after the first plaintiff had made his own Internet searches on the pricing of the laser printer. I note that Chitty at para5-089, fn25 sagely opines that Taylor v Johnson does not represent English law, at least, where the other party knows that a mistake has been made. 57 Malcolm Tan is 30 years old and a practising advocate and solicitor. In a physical sale, the merchant can immediately turn down an offer to purchase a product that has been advertised; otherwise he may be inundated with offers he cannot justify. In Canada, the latter suffices. At 4.16am he placed another order for one laser printer, by credit card, on the HP website. The argument is that, despite appearances, there is no real correspondence of offer and acceptance and that therefore the transaction must necessarily be void. The plaintiffs could not coherently explain why neither they nor their lawyers had not attempted to correct the press reports at the material juncture. 3. 19 Later in the morning, at about 4.15am, the fourth plaintiff sent the following e-mail to the first plaintiff, copied to the second plaintiff only: Subject: Re: IMPT HP Colour LaserJet going at only $66!! The issue could be critical where third party rights are in issue as in. 144 I find, in the alternative, that the plaintiffs, given each of their backgrounds, would in any event, each have separately realised and appreciated, before placing their purchase orders, that a manifest mistake had occurred even if no communications on the error had taken place between them. 44 He made his first purchase of ten laser printers at about 2.42am. The defendant also sells HP products on its own website at http://www.digiland.com (the Digilandmall website). If this rule applies to international sales, is it sensible to have a different rule for domestic sales? It would be illogical to have different approaches for different product sales over the Internet. In short, where does the justice reside? It will firstly discuss the fact that such a tort Our academic writing and marking services can help you! 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. He claims visiting, inter alia, the Epinions and Hardwarezone websites, and though it appears that there was at the material time a discussion thread on the error on the Hardwarezone website, the fourth plaintiff denied having seen this. He then zealously sent at about 2.58am, an e-mail to 54 persons, all of whom were friends and/or business associates. (c) the need to reach commercially sensible solutions while respecting traditional principles applicable to instances of genuine error or mistake. 86 In cases where the facts raised in the proposed amendments have been addressed during the evidence and submissions and, particularly, where the opposing side has also had an opportunity to address the very same points, there can hardly ever be any real prejudice. Chwee Kin Keong and Others v Digilandmall.com Pte Ltd, Whether amendment of particulars of pleadings at conclusion of submissions allowed, Facts raised in proposed amendments addressed during trial and submissions, Whether promise by buyer to pay for goods, in exchange for delivery of goods, constituted sufficient consideration, Electronic Transactions Act (Cap 88, 1999 Rev Ed), Whether automated e-mail responses from seller amounted to acceptance of buyer's offer, Seller's unilateral mistake as to price of goods posted on website, Whether online buyer entitled to enforce contract against seller, 3 All six plaintiffs are graduates, conversant with the usage of the Internet and its practices and endowed with more than an adequate understanding of business and commercial practices. 74 Under product description on each webpage, instead of the actual description of the laser printer which in this case should have been HP9660A Color LaserJet 4600, only the numerals 55 appeared: this was the result of Samuel Teos earlier inadvertent input. Her evidence was inconsequential and did not assist the plaintiffs. The issue could be critical where third party rights are in issue as in Shogun. Despite the general views expressed in. 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. The essence is not so much in the nature of the amendment but rather in the consequences flowing from any amendment to the pleadings. Tiong Min Yeo - SSRN Taking into account the nature of the claims, the conduct of these proceedings by the plaintiffs and how the case for the plaintiffs unravelled, it would not, all things considered, be appropriate to interfere with the normal order of costs which ought to follow the result. As part of its business, it operates a website owned by Hewlett Packard (HP) at http://www.buyhp.com.sg (the HP website) where only HP products are sold. Desmond intimated that the defendant would give vouchers or special deals as a matter of equitable compensation should it not honour the purchase orders. 4 The defendant is a company that sells information technology (IT) related products over the Internet to consumers. There are two types of orders relevant: market orders and limit orders. Administrative Law in Common Law Countries. The Canadian and Australian cases have moved along with the eddies of unconscionability. He was aware that the laser printers were targeted for business use. This price was much lower than the actual retail price, and had been posted on the defendant's website by mistake. 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. 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 price for equitable justice is uncertainty. The answer on the authorities is a mistake by one party of which the other knew or ought reasonably to have known. He is 32 years old and conducts his own network marketing business. The current general approach is correctly stated in Professor Jeffrey Pinslers Singapore Court Practice 2003 (LexisNexis, 2003) at para20/5/7: An amendment may be allowed even after both parties have made their closing submissions. There must be consensus ad idem. Case Note CONTRACT FORMATION AND MISTAKE IN CYBERSPACE (AGAIN) The He would make some basic enquiries to ascertain whether there is anything faulty with the product in an attempt to seek an explanation for or understanding of the basis for the price discrepancy; he might alternatively try and ascertain whether perhaps the price differential is part of some spectacular promotional exercise. LOW, Kelvin Fatt Kin. He claims visiting, 62 Like the second plaintiff, the fifth plaintiff played a pivotal role in the events leading to these proceedings. CISG-online | CISG-online.org Quoine Pte Ltd v B2C2 Ltd: A Commentary - SSRN This is in contrast to the English position where after several decades, 125 The principal source of this view has been Lord DenningMR. Litigation Singapore Lawyer, Doris Chia - David Lim & Partners LLP In fact, he and the fourth plaintiff have jointly conceptualised and implemented an Internet-related business. Users may find that it may not be as forgiving as more traditional methods of communications. But it is difficult to see how that can apply here. 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 E-Mail Acceptance Rule. 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. What is urged is that, owing to a common error as to some fundamental fact, the agreement is robbed of all efficacy. Having pointed out 6 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 . In Chwee Kin Keong v Digilandmall.com Pte Ltd, the Singapore Court of Appeal was asked to consider if the decision in Great Peace Shipping also had the effect of excluding equity's jurisdiction . The leading Canadian decision in this area is the case of, 120 The widening of jurisdiction to embrace a broad equitable jurisdiction could well encourage litigious behaviour and promote uncertainty. The only court judgement on the theme is Chwee Kin Keong v. Digilandmall.com Pte Ltd, a judgement of the Singapore High Court. In addition, each of the confirmatory e-mail responses states at the outset: [W]e will be calling you in the near future to deliver the products to the address shown below. As with any normal contract, Internet merchants have to be cautious how they present an advertisement, since this determines whether the advertisement will be construed as an invitation to treat or a unilateral contract. Needless to say, he could not satisfactorily explain why his previous solicitors had formed such a view when preparing his affidavit and why he had affirmed the same. One reason for this is the eternal tension faced by courts and judges alike in seeking a just equilibrium between commercial certainty and justice in a particular case. This is clearly a mistake as they could not possible be sold for an amount that in a commercial situation. There are in this connection two schools of thought. How could one seek to calculate the profit margin before finding out the true market price of the laser printer? In Chwee Kin Keong v. Digilandmall.com Pte Ltd, one of the defendant's employees mistakenly uploaded the contents of a training template onto the defendant's website, resulting in the retail price of S$3,854 for a commercial laser printer on the website being replaced with the figure S$66. To that extent, his evidence that he subsequently dismissed the notion altogether is unacceptable. Chwee Kin Keong v. Digilandmall.com Pte. "Unilateral Mistake at Common Law and in Equity" by Kelvin Fatt Kin LOW In the Singapore context a similar approach has been adopted by the Court of Appeal in, 105 It is not only reasonable but right that the objective appearance of a contract should not operate in favour of a party who is aware, in the eyes of the law, of the true state of affairs when, for instance, there is real misapprehension on the part of the mistaken party and when the actual reality of the situation is starkly obvious.
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