Unit 13 (contract law) Flashcards
contract
what are the 4 elements that make a contract
Offer
Acceptance
consideration
intention to create legal relations
capacity (extra)
what are the two different types of contacts.
Bilateral contract
unilateral contract
define what a bilateral contract is
Bilateral is made between two individuals or companies
(remember bi = 2)
what is a unilateral contract?
Is an offer to the world, there is no designated offeree.
invitation to treat
An invitation to negotiate for a good or a service
“Make me an offer”
case - Carlill v carbolic smoke ball
example of a case that uses invitation to treat
Fisher v Bell 1959
summary of fisher v bell
Flick knife in a shop window, this implied that the shop owner was inviting people to make an offer, not ‘offering for sale’ as prohibited by the act.
when does a contract come to an end?
a contract can come to an end through acceptance (when offer has been accepted), revocation (offeror revokes their offer), rejection, death and lapse of time (time limit for acceptance)
what is acceptance
intention to be bound by the offer’s terms
case - Felthouse v bindley
when would a contact not be accepted
would be accepted if the offeree does not hear a thing so it must be stated or written.
what is a ‘postal rule’
An offer made by post/letter and is not effective till the offeree has received it.
considertaion
mutual benefits + losses when moving from one party to another in a contract
(promises based on mutual agreement)
Social agreement
between friends - the courts seem more prepared to find evidence of intentional
domestic agreement
between family members - agreements between husband and wife do not generally give rise intention to create legal relations.
case that includes a domestic agreement
Merritt v Merritt
Balfour V Balfour
(purely social)
Balfour v Balfour
Husband stopped sending money to his wife as promised as he was away in Australia. Wife sued to enforce agreement but failed as the arrangement was purely social - did not carry intention to create legal relations.
Merritt v Merritt
husband signed a contract to pay his wife £40 a month to pay off the mortgage. he failed to comply with the contract so wife sued him, because they were seperated it made this deal a business arrangement and not a social one.
Commercial agreements
the parties may state expressly that the contract is binding in honour only- no binding contract intended
express terms
these are explicit in the contract, they are stated and both parties are overtly aware of them.
Implied terms
not expressly stated, but almost taken for granted as obvious within the deal.
Discharge of a contract
Agreement
performance
frustration
breach
what is an agreement
ending of a contract before the natural end of the anticipated terms of a contract
performance
terminated when both parties have fully performed their contractual obligations
frustration (Rescission)
where there exists a change in circumstances which is not the fault of either of the parties
