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Acceptance by performance
The previous set of materials addressed acceptance by promise, which is the more common situation. However, many instances arise in which a party may accept an offer by performance. (You may see some courts refer to the former as "bilateral" agreements and the latter as "unilateral" agreements.) As with acceptance by promise, the question in the case of acceptance by performance is when, exactly, the acceptance is effective.
We saw above that, with the exception of a mailbox rule situation, notice of acceptance to the offeror is the crucial fact. What is the crucial fact when acceptance is by performance rather than promise? Do the following cases help answer that question?
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