Cole-McIntyre-Norfleet Co. v. Holloway
Supreme Court of Tennessee
214 S.W. 817 (1919)
Cole-McIntyre-Norfleet Co.'s (Cole) (defendant) salesman took Holloway's (plaintiff) order for fifty barrels of perishable meal, with delivery to be requested by a set deadline; Cole's salesman visited Holloway's store weekly afterward but never mentioned the order, and when Holloway finally requested delivery two months later, Cole claimed it had never accepted the order, by which point meal prices had risen sharply. Holloway sued to recover the price increase, and the lower courts held Cole's unreasonable delay in communicating rejection amounted to acceptance.
Whether one party's unreasonable delay in notifying another party of its acceptance of the second party's offer constitutes an act of acceptance sufficient to form a valid contract.