Case Studies under Mirror Image Rule

In Gibson v. Manchester City Council, Mr. Gibson completed a form from the council in order to get the conditions of his mortgage and learn the worth of his council property, with the intention of purchasing it.
He received a letter from the council with the information and an application to complete if he wanted to proceed. He gave the filled-out form back. However, a new administration soon took office and put an end to the municipal housing sales. Mr. Gibson was so informed that he could not complete his transaction.
He filed a lawsuit against the council, claiming he was entitled to finish the transaction because a legally binding agreement was already in place.
The court determined that the council’s letter was not an offer.
There was never a contract made for the council to break because there was never an offer to accept. This is a result of the lack of an offer that Mr. Gibson may have accepted in return. As a result, poor old Mr. Gibson was unable to purchase his home.

Another case that addressed the mirror image rule is Minneapolis & S. L. Ry. v. Columbus Rolling Mill. It concerned a railroad firm taking legal action against a manufacturing company. In March 1880, the Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway Co. requested a price from Columbus Rolling Mill Co. for the delivery of iron rails.
They responded by offering to sell the railroad firm between 2,000 and 5,000 tons of 50 kg rails; the acceptance had to be accepted by December 20, 1879, for it to be considered enforceable. The railroad business placed an order for 1,200 tons of rails at the same price in a letter dated December 16.
Columbus claimed that they were unable to complete the reduced order at the initial cost, and the railroad tried to file a breach of contract lawsuit.
The court determined that this case did not satisfy the mirror image requirement. Columbus Rolling Mill refused to accept Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway Co.’s attempts to modify the conditions of the initial offer, which is why. Since the acceptance did not match the offer, the contract was void.

Mirror Image Rule: Meaning, Importance, Implications and Case Studies