Morrison v. Thoelke
District Court of Appeal of
155 So.2d 889.
Facts: The plaintiffs own some property in
Issue: When does a mailed acceptance become effective?
Rule: The “mailbox rule” says that an acceptance is
effective as soon as the acceptance is deposited in the mail.
Analysis: The court goes into a long and involved history of
the mailbox rule. The court cites three factors
that went into the creation of the rule in the case of Adams v. Lindsell:
1.
It is efficient
to establish a “bright line”, hard-edged rule for the sake of efficiency. This is satisfied by making acceptance
effective at the time the envelope goes into the mailbox.
2.
The court wanted
to limit the ruling of Cooke v. Oxley
without overruling it. The new rule
would allow offers to be revoked any time before acceptance except in this case of mailing
acceptance.
3.
In terms of
doctrine, a mailed offer is considered an offer that remains continuously open
while it’s in the mail.
Conclusion: The trial court is reversed and the court rules in
favor of the defendants.