Eliason v Henshaw (1819) 4 Wheat 225
The buyer approached the seller in order to buy some flour. The terms were that the buyer would purchase a quantity of flour (200-300 barrels) for a set price ($9.50 per barrel). The original offer was made by letter on February 10th, 1813. In a postscript the letter stipulated that an acceptance was to be made by letter on the "return wagon" to Harper's Ferry.
Upon receiving the offer, the seller posted a response, by mail, the following day, the 19th of February. The buyer acknowledged receipt of the letter on the 25th of February, stating that "as we requested answer by return of the wagon the next day, and as we did not get it", they would not complete the original contract, and mailed the letter to the seller.
In the interim the flour was shipped to the buyer, who then refused to pay for the shipment, and would not take delivery. The seller then sued for damages for the sent flour.
A contract was found not to exist between these two parties because the defendant had delivered acceptance to a place other than that stated in the offer.
The judge in the case said - "An offer of a bargain by one person to another, imposes no obligation upon the former, until it is accepted by the latter, according to the terms in which the offer was made. Any qualification of, or departure from, those terms, invalidates the offer, unless the same be agreed to by the person who made it. Until the terms of the agreement have received the assent of both parties, the negotiation is open, and imposes no obligation upon either."
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