The Brimnes (1975) QB 929
This is a case concerning the termination of a contract, however the same rule could apply to the withdrawal and acceptance of an offer.
The defendants hired a ship from the plaintiff, who were shipowners. The shipowners complained of a breach of contract. The shipowners sent a message by Telex, withdrawing the ship from service, between 17.30 and 18.00 on 2 April. However, tt was not until the following morning that the defendants saw the message of withdrawal on the machine.
It was held that the notice of withdrawal was sent during ordinary business hours. Thus the charterers' staff had left the office on April 2 'well before the end of ordinary business hours' or that if they were indeed there, they 'neglected to pay attention to the Telex machine in the way they claimed it was their ordinary practice to do.'
It was therefore concluded that the withdrawal Telex must be regarded as having been received at 17.45 and that the withdrawal was effected at that time.
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