BUS Law Ch 9 CC, HW

Samantha is looking to make a formal contract with her neighbor for her babysitting services. Samantha could create a contract in each of the following manners except

a simple contract.

Which one of the following is a contract that arises from the conduct of the parties rather than their words?

implied

Which one of the following is considered to be a legally binding offer?

Auctions without reserve

Johns Manville, a fiber glass production company, sent out an email on January 4 requesting that all employees not go to work for a competing fiberglass producer. Recently, several start-ups had begun to challenge Johns Manville's dominance in the fiber glass industry. However, after receiving a good job offer from a competing fiber glass producer, Glassfiber Inc., Bill decided to quit his job at Johns Manville to work for Glassfiber. Bill had read the email Johns Manville had sent on January 4. Johns Manville sued Bill for having broken an impliedcontract. Johns Manville argued in court that once the email had been sent, Bill was under obligation to not go work for a competitor because he was being paid by Johns Manville at the time Bill read the email. The court ruled in favor of Bill, concluding that no contract had ever been created, and the email did not constitute an enforceable contract. But what if the facts of the case were different? Select each set of facts below that could change the case's outcome.

Bill voluntarily signed a covenant not to compete when he was initially hired by Johns Manville. Johns Manville offered promotions, consisting of a bonus, higher salary, and five extra vacation days, in exchange for an employees' signing a covenant not to compete. After signing and receiving these benefits, Bill changed his mind a year later, and went to work for the competing fiberglass firm, Glassfiber Inc.

Who can accept an offer? I. Offeree. II. Offeree's agent. III. Anyone the offeree told about the offer.

I and II.

Todd leaves his babysitter, Zach, a voice mail message saying, "I need someone to watch little Joey and Hilary on Friday night. If you can babysit on such late notice, I'll pay you an extra $40 on top of your usual rate. If I don't hear from you by 5 p.m. tomorrow, I'll assume we have a deal." If Zach does not call back, has a contract been created?

No, because silence under these circumstances will not constitute acceptance.

Who can accept the offer?

Only the offeree or his agent acting on his behalf can accept the offer.

__________ are created by the courts to prevent one party from being unjustly enriched at the expense of another.

Quasi-contracts

Under what circumstance could lack of genuine assent apply to a contract?

The offeror engages in fraud and misrepresentation with respect to the contract.

What does "definite and certain terms" mean?

all the material terms must be included

What is the third element of an offer?

communication

What is the second element of an offer?

definite and certain terms

What is the first element of an offer?

intent

formal contracts bilaterial contracts implied contracts express contracts informal contracts unilaterial contracts

letter of credit $4000 chimney medical emergency written terms handwritten agreement reward for wallet

If the offer is for a unilateral contract, the offeree can accept only by __________________.

providing the requested performance

The mirror-image rule says that the terms of the acceptance must mirror _________.

the terms of the offer

Joe was the head chef and owner of Corner Grill in Columbus. He had three employees. One of them, Joan, fell sick on Sunday. Joe called Ashton, another of the employees to cover for Joan on Monday. Ashton did not answer, and Joe left a message on Ashton's answering machine asking Ashton to come into work the next day. Ashton never called back. Joe assumed Ashton's not calling back was Ashton's agreement to come into work. But Ashton never showed up the next day, and Joe's Corner Grill had to close for the day due to a shortage of workers. Joe sought damages for the business revenue he had lost that day by accusing Ashton of having breached his contract to fill in for Joan. However, the court ruled in favor of Ashton, finding that Ashton had never agreed verbally or in written form that he would cover Joan's work shift. But what if the facts of the case were different? Select each set of facts below that could change the outcome of the case.

In the hiring process, Ashton was made aware that when Joe called an employee to assign a work shift, Joe would assume the shift would be covered, unless the employee called back. Ashton agreed to these terms. At least 50 times before this incident, Joe had left Ashton a message regarding Ashton's need to cover a shift. Ashton would routinely not call back, yet show up to cover the shift. Joe calls Ashton on Saturday several times, and leaves Ashton three messages asking Ashton to come in on Monday to cover for Joan. Joe says that he will direct deposit $100 dollars into Ashton's account on Sunday. Ashton listens to all three messages, but does not call back. He then spends the $100 deposited into his account on new shoes.

In this activity, you'll be reviewing a hypothetical situation concerning a contract. You'll use what you've learned in Chapter 9 to determine if the case suggests that a valid offer exists. CONCEPT REVIEW: The first element of a contract is the agreement, which is made up of an offer and an acceptance. Formation of the agreement begins when the party initiating the contract, called the offeror, makes an offer to another party, called the offeree. The elements of an offer are (1) serious intent by the offeror to be bound to an agreement, (2) reasonably definite terms, and (3) communication to the offeree. Mini-Case: Read the simulated case below regarding an offer for a contract. Then answer the questions regarding the process of determining a valid offer. Mark and Lindsay have a verbal conversation. In that conversation, Mark tells Lindsay that he will sell her his used living room couch and loveseat for $125 cash. Lindsay has seen the furniture often and knows that the furniture is used, but the fabric has no holes, stains, or large imperfections. Mark also indicated that he was not joking, and Lindsay had no reason to believe Mark was joking about the sale of the furniture. Lindsay agrees to accept Mark's offer. Walk through the three steps of a valid offer under common law for the case above. Do the facts of the case suggest that a valid offer exists? Why or why not? Formation of the agreement begins when the party initiating the contract, called the offeror, makes a(n) _____ to another party, called the offeree.

offer