X, a customer, selects an item in a self-service departmental store and brings it to the cash counter for purchase. However, Y, a clerk at the cash counter, refuses to sell the item to X. Subsequently, X decides to file a lawsuit against the shopkeeper. How should this matter be decided?
TheSayeed Answered question March 15, 2024
Facts of the Case:
- X, a customer, picks up an item from a self-service departmental store with the intention of purchasing it.
- X takes the selected item to the cash counter for payment.
- Y, a clerk working at the cash counter, declines to sell the item to X.
Issue in the Case:
- Can X file a lawsuit against the shopkeeper due to the refusal of the clerk at the cash counter to sell the item?
Principle:
- The display of items in a self-service departmental store constitutes an invitation to treat and not a binding offer.
- Customers making selections in such stores are making offers to purchase, and the shopkeeper has the discretion to accept or refuse these offers.
Judgment:
- X cannot file a lawsuit against the shopkeeper based on the refusal of the clerk at the cash counter to sell the item.
- The items displayed in a self-service departmental store are invitations to treat, indicating the shopkeeper’s willingness to enter into a contract with customers.
- When X selected the item and brought it to the cash counter, it constituted an offer to purchase.
- However, Y’s refusal to sell the item does not constitute a breach of contract or actionable conduct on the part of the shopkeeper.
- This situation aligns with the precedent set in the case of Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain v. Boots Cash Chemists (1953) Q.B. 401, where the court determined that the display of items in a store is an invitation to treat, not an offer.
TheSayeed Answered question March 15, 2024