Student Brief Case for Landmark Case: Carlill v. Carbolic Smoke Ball Company , law homework help

” Read and Brief the full case, giving special attention to the meaning of “consideration” that the court is offering. You might want to start by reviewing what counts as Consideration and then describing what the court is saying consideration means in this particular case. As you will notice, the court spends some time talking about what was then a relatively new way of viewing consideration so you would be wise to sum that up in your brief.

Below is the fact pattern, followed by a link to the actual decision as issued by the court, and another link that will remind you how to properly brief a case:

Landmark Case: Carlill v. Carbolic Smoke Ball Company

1 QB 256

Court of Appeal, 1892

Facts: In the early 1890s, English citizens greatly feared the Russian flu. The Carbolic Smoke Ball Company ran a newspaper ad that contained two key passages:

“£100 reward will be paid by the Carbolic Smoke Ball Company to any person who contracts the influenza after having used the ball three times daily for two weeks according to the printed directions supplied with each ball.



“£1000 is deposited with the Alliance Bank, shewing our sincerity in the matter.”


The product was a ball that contained carbolic acid. Users would inhale vapors from the ball through a long tube.

Carlill purchased a smoke ball and used it as directed for two months. She then caught the flu. She sued, arguing that because her response to the ad had created a contract with the company, she was entitled to £100.

The trial court agreed, awarding Carlill the money. The company appealed.

Here is the appellate decision: http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/1892/1.html

And here is the link for briefing a case: http://www.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/research/brief.html