Alain De Swan Case Study

The contractual issues arising between Alain de Swan and other parties involved in the Isle of Man Cup Series yacht race derive from the legal validity of the offer given by Alain de Swan. The validity of Swan’s offer, which stated he would pay £10,000 to the crew of any yacht who could cross the finish line ahead of his in the race, is questioned due to the context in which the offer was made. Another legal issue arises in deciding the recipient of the £10,000 reward in the event that Swan is bound to the offer he made.

The fact that Swan made the offer of giving a reward to any yacht who could cross the finish line ahead of his, the “Liquid Amber”, was made in a social setting counteracts the existence of a contract between Swan and the participants of the Isle of Man Cup Series yacht race. This is due to the fact that an intention to create legal relations by Swan must be present in order for the offer to be legally binding. One can argue that the informal setting of where Swan gave the offer, the “Barnacle Bar”, and the fact that the offer was verbally stated “in a moment of bravado” makes …show more content…
This is especially a problem in this situation since two yachts, the “Bell Raider” and “Mon Amour”, crossed the finish line before Swan’s “Liquid Amber”. In this scenario the question of who would receive the reward arises. Would they each receive £10,000 or share the prize? Is the “Mon Amour” still eligible for the reward even when it breached the rule of the race? Terms in the case that there was more than one party who completed the offer were not expressed by Swan. An argument against the existence of a valid offer and formation of contract can be based on the lack of terms in Swan’s offer. For example, Bowen LJ in Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co states that ‘the vagueness as to the persons with whom the contract was intended to be made’ would show that ‘no contract was ever