Question

Peter is the shopkeeper of a pet shop. Last week, Peter lost one of his Persian cats when taking it for bathing at his shop. He immediately put up a notice on the wall of his pet shop stating a reward of $1,000 for return of his cat. Recently, when Mary walked along the street, she found Peter’s lost cat accidentally. Luckily, the cat wore a necklace with details of Peter’s name and shop address. After Mary returned the cat to Peter, she discovered the notice on the wall and demanded the reward of $1,000.
Find a related case to support the above statement.

Answer 1

An offer must be communicated to the person to whom it is made An offer is said to be complete only when it is communicated to the offeree.

In the case of Fitch v. Snedakar, the defendant Snedakar offered a reward to any one who returns his lost dog. Fitch, the plaintiff brought the dog without any knowledge of the offer of reward. It was held that Fitch was not entitled to the reward because Fitch cannot be said to have accepted the offer which he was not aware of.

In the given situation therefore, Mary would not be entitled to the reward, as she had no knowledge of the same at the time she found the cat and returned it to Peter.