Contract Law

Agreement Understanding an Offer An offer may be described as an expression to another of a willingness to be legally bound by the stated terms. Three features that must be present for the offer to be legally effective: . Statement by offeror containing stated terms. The statement must contain all the elements of the proposed agreement and be sufficiently certain. 2. Statement made to another person. The offer must be made to another legal entity. 3. Offeror indicates a preparedness to be bound. The offeror must be prepared to be legally bound upon acceptance by the offeree. Offers in Bilateral Contracts A bilateral contract is one which, if accepted, is effective to bind both parties to his or her undertaking. Each party undertakes to the other party to do or refrain from doing something. Offers in Unilateral Contracts If contracts - One party (promisor) agrees to do or refrain from doing something if another party (promisee) does or refrains from doing something but the promisee does not himself undertake to do or refrain from doing that thing. A unilateral contract differs from a bilateral contract in that it does not immediately impose an obligation on either party to perform. The obligation on the offeror arises only if the offeree performs the required task. The offeree will never be under an enforceable obligation to perform. Examples: * Offers of

  • Word count: 2283
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Law
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contract law

Charlotte Jones Group 15. Thursday 4pm Non Assessed Coursework Robert and his wife, Lucy, decide to take dance classes at a local Salsa dance club. They used to go to ballroom dance classes at the same club some years ago. Because Salsa dancing has become so popular, they book the classes in advance. On the back of the receipt a printed clause says "For terms and conditions please see notices in the club". On the inside of the club door a large notice is pinned up. The notice reads, "The club will not accept responsibility for any loss suffered by customers". At their first dance class, the dance instructor, Paul, who also owns the club, demonstrates an energetic step and falls over, knocking Robert to the ground. Robert's arm is broken and his Rolex watch is damaged beyond repair. When Lucy goes to the cloakroom to get her coat, she finds her coat has been stolen. Advise Robert and Lucy as to any contractual claim they may have. I will begin by looking at the contractual claim Lucy has in respect to the loss of her coat. Lucy's claim could be based most suitably on the area of Contract law known as incorporation, and perhaps negligence. Dealing first with incorporation. For a clause to form part of a contract it must be effectively incorporated into it. The basic rule of incorporation is that there has to be sufficient notice of the terms before a contract is completed

  • Word count: 1874
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Law
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Contract Law.

) a) Christie is looking to put a case forward, making a claim against Monte for breach of contract. In this case Christie would be advised that his case is not as strong as he is hoping it to be, simply because of the fact that she would have to prove that there was a contract between himself and Monte, also proof regarding breach. Montes advert for sale, Morris Minor, 1950, in pristine condition, £2500 was published in the Classic Cars Gazette. If all of Monte's needs had all been met a contract would be placed automatically between the buyer and Monte. A contract was placed between Christie and Monte but it was a verbal contract because Monte's needs were not all fully met, when Christie phoned Monte he said that she could only afford £2000 but Monte stressed to her that he could not accept anything below £2250, in this phone call an offer of £2000 was declined and a counter offer was made of £2250, therefore the counter offer stands as a new offer, Monte promised that he would hold on to the car until Wednesday while Christie considered Monte's offer. The car was then sold to Dexter for £2500 adding that Monte did not keep his promise, but Monte was not bound by his promise. This is well supported by Tweedle v Atkinson1, Guy and Tweedle both agreed that they would each give some money to Tweedle's son who was going to get married to Guys Daughter. When Guy

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Law
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contact law

By reference to case law authority, distinguish between offers and invitations to treat. A contract can be defined as an agreement between two or more competent parties in which an offer is made and accepted, and each party benefits. Some contracts are required to be in writing in order to be enforced. Therefore by using reference to case law authority I wish to distinguish between offers and invitations to treat. An offer is a statement of willingness from one part to enter into a contract that contains certain terms. The offer must be completed and capable of being accepted. The written terms can be used in evidence in the event of a disagreement. A contract does not always need to be written. There are some situations where an oral contract will be legally enforceable. The offer must be accepted without new terms entering the contract. If the offer is not accepted or new terms are introduced then this is a counter - offer. A counter offer can refuse the original offer. If the counter offer terms are accepted then these terms become the terms of the contract. Acceptance does not take place until communication to the person making the offer. Communication of acceptance is the moment when the contract is formed. There are two main rules leading communication of acceptance. These being the reception rule - the contract are formed when acceptance is received by the person

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Law
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Human Nature

Human Nature being what it is, few people want to incur liability if they do not have to. For this reason parties to contracts have always tried to insert clauses into their contracts exempting or restricting liability for breach of contract or negligence. An exemption clause is a term in a contract, which seeks to enable one party to escape liability. Monopoly power long ago was rare, and contracts tended to be between people of equal bargaining power. In the more recent past the Sale of Goods Act 1979 permits this practice and exemption clauses are a common feature of Business contracts. Parliament decided to control exemption clauses and now the majority of them are covered by the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 and supplemented by the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. During the 20th century, the balance of power has altered. Companies tend to dictate to their customers the terms under which they are prepared to trade. "Take it or leave it' attitude. And this applies straight across the board. These abuses of power usually took the form of standard conditions of sale, excluding the seller's liability for virtually any breach of contract or any act of negligence. Contracts were drawn up in obscure language and printed in small lettering, which was difficult for to read or understand. Nothing is wrong with such clauses made between equals but they

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Law
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Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is the name given to the process where parties in a dispute come to a compromise or settle their dispute without going to court.

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is the name given to the process where parties in a dispute come to a compromise or settle their dispute without going to court. The main reason people use ADR is to save the expense of using the courts and solicitors. There are four main forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution. Negotiation is the simplest form of ADR. Where two people have a dispute they can negotiate a solution themselves. The advantages to the parties involved are that it is completely private and it's fast and cheap. Mediation is where a neutral person the mediator helps the parties to reach a compromise. The job of the mediator is to consult with each party and see how much common ground there is between them. S/he should act as a facilitator, taking offers between the parties. The mediator doesn't offer an opinion. Mediation is most suitable where there is some chance that the parties will co-operate. Mediation is not legally binding on the parties. There are a number of organisations that offer mediation services. One of the main ones is the Centre for Dispute Resolution; many companies use their mediation services to save money in legal fees. The only disadvantage of using mediation to settle a dispute is there is no guarantee that a settlement will be reached. This means that you still have to use the courts, so in effect failure at the mediation

  • Word count: 961
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Law
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Contract Law Legal Briefing on Lucy v. Zehmer Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia (196. Va. 493, 84 S.E.2d 516 (1954)

Ti’Isha Edwards Business 10 Sec ON3 (21116) Briefing on Lucy v. Zehmer Lucy v. Zehmer Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia (196. Va. 493, 84 S.E.2d 516 (1954) BUCHANAN, J. (Justice) Plaintiff: W.O. Lucy (and wife) Defendants: A.H. and Ida Zehmer Facts One night, Lucy stopped in to visit Zehmer at Zehmer’s place of business. Lucy has known Zehmer for close to twenty years; Lucy has also made offers to buy Zehmer’s Ferguson Farm for $50,000 for eight years out of the twenty years of knowing Zehmer. During Lucy and Zehmer’s visit, both parties were engaging in drinking while conversing about Lucy’s interest in purchasing Ferguson Farm for $50,000 among other topics. While having drinks, Lucy persuaded Zehmer to write up a contract for the sale of Ferguson Farm to Lucy for $50,000. Zehmer wrote up a contract for thus sale of land to Lucy for $50,000 complete. Lucy brought suit for specific performance when Zehmer refused to complete the transaction. The trial court ruled for Zehmer holding that Lucy had not established a right to specific performance. Lucy filed an appeal. Issue Will the Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia considers whether the lower court’s decision to deem the contract unenforceable due to Zehmer’s intoxication (a condition in which a person’s normal capacity to act or think is inhibited by alcohol or some other drug).

  • Word count: 473
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Law
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Contract Law, Scenario Assignment

Tutorial 4: Practice Assignment A contract can be defined as a legally binding agreement between two individuals or a group of people. The quintessential elements of a contract are agreement, consideration and intention. An agreement is reached through an offer and then acceptance. Consideration is simple the “value” element whereby, money is paid for goods provided or work carried out. There is also intention which is where the parties involved intend to be legally bound; this may not always be stating rather it may be implied between the respective parties. An offer is a proposal made by an offerror to the offeree which includes specific terms and a promise to hold to that proposal if it is accepted. The proposal made by Brown & Co Ltd to Khan & Co Ltd offering to a sell a quantity of steel for £20,000 resulted in the latter replying with a counter offer. A counter offer is a rejection of the initial offer which is replaced by another offer, normally consisting of a price/service which is preferred by the offeree. There can also be cases where the price remains fixed by both parties and where the disagreement lies within certain conditions or clauses in that contract. However, a compromise must be reached before any sort of agreement can be reached. Acceptance of the counter-offer rather than the original offer will only be considered an agreement. As seen in the

  • Word count: 1293
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Law
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Offers last forever unless expressly revoked. Critically evaluate this statement as it relates to the formation of contracts.

‘Offers last forever unless expressly revoked.’ Critically evaluate this statement as it relates to the formation of contracts. Basically, contract cannot come into existence until there has been a valid offer and corresponding acceptance. In other words, If an offer is withdrawn prior to acceptance, then no contract can result. Offer means an expression of willingness to contract made with the intention that it shall become binding on the offeror as soon as it is accepted by the offeree. The offer may be communicated in writing, orally, by conduct or combination of all three. If an offer is withdrawn prior to acceptance, then no contract can result. It may be contested that even if an offer has been communicated to the intended offeree, the offer will never last forever. There are several situations where an offer can be terminated and these can range from revocation of offer, lapse of time, failure of a precondition, rejection, counter-offer, death of the offeror. First and foremost, an offer will lapse once the offeror withdraw an offer which is known as revocation of an offer. In the case, Payne v Cave, it establishes the principle that an offer may be withdrawn at any time up until it is accepted. In Routledge v Grant, the defendant made a provisional offer to buy the claimant’s house at a specified price, ‘a definite answer to be given within six weeks from

  • Word count: 854
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Law
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The impact of exclusion clauses on the consumer of goods and services in England and Wales is no longer of any significance. Critically analyse the statutory controls that exist over the use of exclusion clauses and assess the truth of this statement.

The impact of exclusion clauses on the consumer of goods and services in England and Wales is no longer of any significance. Critically analyse the statutory controls that exist over the use of exclusion clauses and assess the truth of this statement. Exclusion clauses are a clause that is included in a contract which seeks to limit the liability that one party owes to another. The courts recognize that there is a need for businesses to impose a financial ceiling on a contract, in order to limit the risk when entering into a contract. This is generally recognized by the freedom of contract however business, with their unfair bargaining position may take advantage of consumers, hence there exist statutory controls to govern the use of exclusion clauses. The Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 has a significant effect on exclusion clauses. It imposes statutory limits on the avoidance of civil liability through exclusion clauses in business contracts. It only works when one of the parties were dealing as a consumer and another is not. It is interpreted widely, including businesses which are dealing as consumers. l However, the control may not extend to exclusion clauses that are not incorporated into the contract. In the case of R & B Custom Brokers case, the defendants was a shipping company who had purchased zlsome cars, which was merely incidental to their business and not

  • Word count: 735
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Law
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