Hyde v Wrench [1840] EWHC Ch J90 is a leading English contract law case on the issue of counter-offers and their relation to initial offers. It contains Lord Langdale's ruling that any counter-offer cancels the original offer.
Wrench offered to sell his farm in Luddenham, Kent, to Hyde for ã1,200, an offer which Hyde declined. On 6 June 1840 Wrench wrote to Hyde's agent offering to sell the farm for ã1,000, stating that it was the final offer and that he would not alter from it. Hyde offered ã950 in his letter by 8 June, and after examining the offer Wrench refused to accept, and informed Hyde of this on 27 June. On the 29th Hyde agreed to buy the farm for ã1,000 without any additional agreement from Wrench, and after Wrench refused to sell the farm to him he sued for breach of contract.
Lord Langdale's judgment read: <blockquote> Under the circumstances stated in this bill, I think there exists no valid binding contract between the parties for the purchase of this property. The defendant offered to sell it for ã1,000, and if that had been at once unconditionally accepted there would undoubtedly have been a perfect binding contract; instead of that, the plaintiff made an offer of his own, to purchase the property for ã950, and he thereby rejected the offer previously made by the defendant. I think that it was not afterwards competent for him to revive the proposal of the defendant, by tendering an acceptance of it; and that, therefore, there exists no obligation of any sort between the parties. </blockquote>