Formation Flashcards
What four elements do you need to have a contract?
- Agreement / offer + acceptnce
- Intent to create relations
- Certainty
- Consideration
What is consideration?
An exchange of promises. Both parties are taking on an obligation or giving something up. It is some onus or payment needed to have a contract.
Why does a contract not work when only one side gives consideration?
This could become a one sided promise. If one party doesn’t give something up, they don’t really have a contractual right to demand anything.
Do contract obligations need both people to voluntarily opt into them?
Yes.
Do property obligations need both people to voluntarily opt into them?
No.
What is objectivity in contract law?
Contract law is generally said to take an objective approach to contract formation and obligation . 2 ways:
- We look at it from the POV of an informed viewer not personally involved.
OR - We swap an objective person into the position of one or other of the parties. What would a reasonable person in their position think?
What is freedom of contract?
Philosophical theory:
Parties get to choose the terms of their contract, who they contract with and whether they contract at all.
The law should avoid interfering.
What is sanctity of contract?
The idea that contracts are promises and people ought to do what they’ve promised.
What is agency?
An agent is someone appointed by a party to act on their behalf.
The agent can negotiate with B on behalf of A.
In what scenario are you commonly entering a contract with an agent?
Every time you interact with a company, you are entering the contract with an agent.
What two types of authority may an agent have?
- Actual authority – the principal sets out that the agent can do that specific thing
- Ostensible authority – the authority that B reasonably thinks A has been given
Does acceptance have to be by communication? Case?
No, Carlil v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co.
An offer can be accepted by conduct / actions. In Carlil, acceptance was in the form of using the smoke ball as instructed.
What is the aim of a contract?
An exchange:
- A gives something to B, B gives something to A
What is a foundational value in contract making?
We contract on the basis of trust, it is expected that both parties will comply with and fulfil their obligations under the contract.
What is the difference between contracting and contract law?
Contracting = making a contract
Contract law = the enforcement of that contract in court
In contract law, what do we assume all contracts to be a product of? (What do contracts result from?)
Negotiation.
In reality, what are contracts normally a product of? (What do contracts actually result from?)
For the most part we have unilaterally dictated terms - we take the contract with the terms and do not negotiate them.
Example:
- buying from a shop/store
What are industry standard terms?
Where the terms of the contract are standardised, usually a contract between financially resourced parties.
Agreement on terms pre-organised to be standard in the industry.
What is agreement?
Offer + Acceptance.
When two or more people meet and agree on an exchange of mutual obligations.
Is agreement always express?
No, but the way in which parties may conduct themselves can hint at them being done.
Is there an offer without certainty?
No! You cannot have an unclear offer. Statements of intention without descernible conditions do not qualify as offers.
Why may a written contract be helpful?
To stop people from denying the contract and being more able to enforce it in law (sometimes hard without written contract). Also helps with certainty.
What is intention to create legal relations?
The idea that for contracts to be binding the parties need to intend to be legally bound.
What MUST you have for an agreement?
Offer and Acceptance.
What is the main thing that written contracts try to prevent?
Fraud.
Would the courts enforce a contract without certainty?
The courts are very reluctant to enforce a contract without certainty.
What is an example where someone may not be intending to create legal relations?
Someone promises to give you a cooking lesson in exchange for driving them to school every morning. You likely cannot take them to court if they fail to do so.
Are variations always made through offer and acceptance?
No, quite often variations will be made without the typical offer and acceptance.
What is a traditional offer?
An unequivocal statement of interest by a party to another to do something (or refrain from doing something) and to be bound if the party to whom it is expressed accepts that expression of interest.
MUST BE CLEAR STATEMENT OR Indication of what the parties will do.
An offer can tell us the terms of the contract
Can acceptance be made on different terms to the offer?
No, this is a counter offer.
Can an offer be subjective?
No, an offer must be objectively understood to be an offer.
Is the phrase, “I will buy your house”, an offer or an expression of desire? Why?
An expression of desire.
- Not told time, intentions, amount of money, conditions etc.
What is an invitation to treat?
An invitation to make an offer.
Once an offer has been accepted, can it be retracted?
No.
What is a piece of puffery? Example.
An exaggerated, usually vague, non-realistic offer that do not bear any indication of a real offer.
E.g.
- Red bull gives you wings
What is a display of goods?
When goods are displayed in a shop, this is an invitation to make an offer to purchase them. It is not an offer as they can say they are out of stock etc.
Goods may just be there to signal to the market that they will soon be available.
When may a display of goods be an offer?
If goods are displayed in a way that shows an intention to be bound.
E.g.
- 5 bananas to be sold $1 each and if you are the first to get it, you can buy it
- This is an offer to sell to the first to get the banana’s there is an offer that can be accepted
Can the courts enforce agreements without specific terms?
No, there is no contract.
For example, you can’t enforce a contract to buy a house if there is no sale price.
When may the traditional offer and acceptance model not work?
Complex commercial settings
Ongoing relationship
Repeat parties
What is an invitation / request for tenders?
A tender is a bid on a project, an request for tenders is an invitation to others to put forward tenders.
When does an invitation / request for tenders become an offer?
When it is qualified.
E.g. “The person who can build best house at cheapest price will be accepted.”
What are the two elements of a tender deal?
- Preliminary contract
- The contract based on accepting the tender - Substantive contract
- This is the contract for the actual building of the structure
What obligation is key under a preliminary contract?
The obligation to enter into a substantive contract.
Who is the offeror?
The one who makes the offer.
Who is the offeree?
The one to accept the offer.
What is the situation with sale by auction with no reserve?
If it is advertised without reserve, this is an offer to sell to the highest bidder. The vendor has an obligation to sell, even if the highest bid is disappointing.
This means that you have to sell the property under an obligation of law, even if the highest bid is disappointing.
Is sale by auction an offer or an invitation to treat?
Where there is an advertisement of proposed auction sale, this is not an offer but an invitation to treat.
At any point the auctioneer may take the it off the market. Any expendature is at the potential buyer’s own risk.
Can acceptance be qualified acceptance?
No, it must be an unqualified “yes”.
Can acceptance be non-definitive?
No, acceptance must be definitive.
Can acceptance be referential?
No, acceptance must not be referential.
What does referential mean? Example.
Referential example – I’ll buy your house for 10,000 more than the top bidder.
Once an offer is accepted, can the acceptor terminate the contract?
No, or at least not without penalties.
Once a counter offer is put forward, what happens to the prior offer?
It is void. The initial offeror no longer has to offer to that person. A counter offer takes away the counter offeror’s ability to accept.
Is asking for clarification of an offer a counter offer?
This does not amount to a counter-offer so long as what you say does not alter the conditions.
When analysing a contract, what type of acceptance do we initially try to establish?
Traditional offer and acceptance.
If you have to move away from the offer and acceptance model, what do you have to do?
Explain why you are moving away from it.
E.g. “based on offer offer and acceptance there is no difinative contract, however, following the holistic/global model of contract formation, a contract could be identified.”
What are the two main factors that can make applying the offer/acceptance model difficult?
- Competition to dictate contract terms
- Uncertainty around the meaning of an offer or acceptance
What is competition to dictate terms?
Two big, powerful parties competing to have the contract made on their terms.