As WhatsApp use grows exponentially (it just hit the 2 billion mark worldwide) we all need to be mindful of the risks that come with it. One of them is the danger of committing yourself inadvertently to a binding legal obligation.
We’ll start off by understanding the basic elements of a legally-enforceable contract in our law, then – with reference to a R1m “offer” made by a WhatsApping father to the mother of one of his children, we’ll discuss the question of “intention to contract”. The father, having won R20.8m on the National Lottery, denied any real intention to offer the mother the R1m. Was his “offer” an offer capable of acceptance?
The Court’s reasoning in answering that question holds important lessons for us all.
