Ch 8 Flashcards
Contract law enables private agreements to be…
Legally enforceable
Contract
Legally enforceable promise or exchange of promises
Confidentiality agreements
Employees sign contract and promise not to disclose
Company’s marketing plans, customer lists, discoveries, etc.
Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)
Important state based legislation impacting contract law
Covers the sale of goods
UCC relates to contracts involving goods, and what governs most other contracts?
Common law
Bilateral contracts
Involve promise for promise (mutual) exchange
Unilateral contracts
Agreement with only 1 promise and only 1 party is committed
To perform
Exist when promise is made to motivate an action
Express contract
Arise from interactions where parties discuss promised
Terms of their agreement
Ex. Negotiated purchase of land for construction of
manufacturing plant
Implied-in-fact contracts
Arise from conduct of parties rather than from words
Ex. Asking an accountant for professional advice implies
Promise to pay going rate for advice, even though you
Don’t make express promise to pay
Implied in law contract AKA quasi contract
1 party unjustly enriched at expense of another, law may
Imply duty on 1st party to pay 2nd even though there is
No contract
Ex. Debtor over pays creditor $5000, they can sue creditor
On quasi contract to get back the money
Enforceable contract
When courts uphold validity of promises of contract
Unenforceable contract
Nonperforming party has justifiable reason for noncompliance
With promise
Valid contract
Agreement is enforceable because all essential requirements
Are present
Void contract
Appears to be in agreement but lacks essential requirement
For validity and enforceability
Ex. Collecting money on illegal gambling
Voidable contract
Agreement when at least one party has right to withdraw
From promise made without legal liability
Executed contract
Parties have performed their promises
Ex. Paying for groceries with money
Executory contract
Parties have not yet performed their agreement
What are the 5 essential elements for forming a valid contract?
1 offer 2 acceptance 3 consideration 4 capacity 5 lawful purpose
Offer to contract
Contains specific promise and specific demand
Definite terms: contracts
Under common law of contracts, contractual terms must
Be definite and specific
3 examples of indefiniteness
Advertisements, catalogs, web pages with price quotes
Under the UCC, contracts for the sale of goods can…
What does this not apply to?
Leave open nonquantity terms to be decided at future time
(can leave open price for future date)
This doesn’t apply to real estate or services
4 instances when an offer is terminated?
1 too much time ellapses
2 oferee’s rejection
3 offerees counter offer
4 revocation (offeror takes back offer)
Acceptance
Offeree’s makes the required promise
Necessary to create valid enforceable contract
Mirror image rule, required by standard contract law
For acceptance to create binding contract, acceptance
Must mirror offer (match exactly)
Merchants
People who deal in business of goods
Mailbox rule AKA deposited acceptance rule
Acceptance of contract becomes binding when deposited
with postal service
Consideration
All promises aren’t enforceable though legal action, there
Must be incentive for person’s promise or it’s nonbinding
Consideration is mechanism for evaluating existence of
Incentive
Consideration: bilateral contract
Promises each party makes to each other are the
consideration