GIO General Limited v Allen

The parties to this matter were GIO General Limited and Allen. The dispute concerned whether a binding settlement agreement had been reached following an offer made by GIO General Limited which was purportedly withdrawn before its stated expiry time, but subsequently accepted by Allen. The case came before the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether an offer, stated to be open until a specific time, could be validly withdrawn before that time had elapsed, and if so, whether an acceptance made after the purported withdrawal but before the original expiry time constituted a binding contract. A related issue concerned the effect of this purported withdrawal and acceptance on a *Calderbank* offer.

The Court determined that an offer, even if stated to be open for a specified period, can be withdrawn at any time before it is accepted. The withdrawal of the offer effectively terminated the possibility of acceptance. Therefore, Allen's subsequent purported acceptance of the withdrawn offer did not create a binding settlement agreement. The Court applied the established principle that an offer can be revoked at any time prior to acceptance.

The Summons for leave to appeal was dismissed with costs.