FACTS
Ms. Simpkins lived as a boarder at Ms. Pays house who lived with her granddaughter, they entered into a weekly competition run by a newspaper by agreeing that Ms. Simpkins will fill in weekly coupon with each person making their forecast. The coupons were submitted on Ms. Pays name with an agreement that if any one of them wins prize it will be divided equally among three of them. Ms. Pays won £750 and refused to share it. Ms. Simpkins brought a suit against Ms. Pays to claim one third of the prize money.
ISSUES
Whether there was an intention to create legal relations in the informal arrangement between the Parties so as to constitute a legal agreement to distribute the shares?
JUDGMENT
The court held that in spite of the familial and domestic relations there existed a mutuality in arrangement between the parties by which they agreed upon the manner of submission of forecasts in Ms. Pays name and if anyone wins a prize it would be shared equally among three. The filling out of coupons my Ms. Simpkins was not a voluntary service in domestic context but pursuant to an agreement by which each party had shares in result showing an intention to create legal relations. The court held the mutual agreement, no matter how informal constituted a legally binding agreement.
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