COOKE v WOOLWORTHS LTD [1988] NSWCA 27

COOKE v WOOLWORTHS LTD

SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES COURT OF APPEAL

SAMUELS, MCHUGH and CLARKE JJA 29 July 1988, 16 December 1988

[1988] NSWCA 27

Contract — acceptance of offer by conduct — offer of reward — construction — no question of principle.

Samuels JA In December 1980 extortion demands were made upon the respondent following the detonation of bombs in three of its stores. On 24 December it made a press release relevantly in the following terms:

ceseeees Woolworths, in consultation with the NSW Police Force will offer a reward of $250,000 for information that will lead to the arrest and conviction of any person or persons responsible for these acts.

Payment of any such reward will be given at the discretion of the Commissioner of the NSW Police."

It is, I think, unnecessary to describe the events which preceded a meeting which took place on 15 January between the plaintiff, his legal representatives, police officers and representatives of the respondent. The appellant then nominated one Danielson as one of the persons responsible for the bombing of the respondent's stores. He was, as the learned judge, Grove J, found, the first person to assert that Danielson was one of the persons involved in the extortion attempt. Danielson was interviewed by police on 20 January and arrested on 27 January. He and another man called McHardie were subsequently tried, convicted and sentenced for offences in connection with the bombings and attempted extortion.

In due course, after Mr Danielson had been arrested, the appellant's solicitors claimed payment of the reward from the Commissioner of Police and repeated their claim in a letter dated 28 April 1982 after Mr Danielson's conviction. On 7 July 1982 Assistant Commissioner NC Scott signed a letter which, so far as material, was in these terms: