Court case(1879) 4 Ex D 216

Grant applied in writing for shares in the company and paid a deposit. The company allotted the shares and posted a letter of allotment to him, but the letter never reached him. Grant heard nothing, never paid the balance, and the dividends were credited to his account. When the company went into liquidation the liquidator sued Grant for the unpaid balance on the shares, treating him as a shareholder.

The majority (Thesiger and Baggallay LJJ) held that the contract was complete when the letter of allotment was posted. The post office is the common agent of both parties, and an offeror who invites acceptance by post takes the risk of the letter being lost. Grant was a shareholder and liable. Bramwell LJ dissented, arguing that an acceptance should take effect only on receipt.