An Appreciation of Southwest Terminals v. Achter Land & Cattle

We have posted a Limerick about this case before, and we summarized it here. We also noted some scholarship on the case. The case was celebrated when it came out as one of the first to address the burning question of whether an emoji can count as acceptance and whether a text message consisting of only an emoji can serve as a signature sufficient to satisfy the Statute of Frauds.

I just want to promote the case once again as a teaching case. It’s got some very nice language on the objective theory of contracts and a quick nod to Corbin on what a court may consider when determining whether a contract can be formed. The decision to bind the parties is very much informed by relational contracts theory, though without any express acknowledgment of the tradition or any citations to relevant literature. I use the case to teach the Statute of Frauds, but it also serves to remind students of some basic points about formation, and it does so with some exemplary language.

Well done, King’s Bench for Saskatchewan!