LAW 240 PART 2

Mailbox Rule

Acceptance is generally effective upon dispatch Terminations are effective when received.

Valid contract

An agreement supported by am considerationfreeky entered into consenting parties ,

Common law "gap filling"

Common law lacks the gap fillers , no contract being formed

Is someone doing yard work for someone next week, is it a promise?

Consideration exist, a promise is equal to doing it

Exception: Promissory Estoppel

Courts sometimes use promissory estoppel to validate promises based on past consideration

Walter enters a dentist office and points to a damaged tooth. The dentist, Matt, treats the tooth. If Walter refused to pay and Matt sued:

Matt win, they have a implied contract

Exception: Parties Agree in Advance

Past consideration is valid consideration when the parties agree that it will be in advance

Option Contract

The offeror may not revoke an offer during the option period ex;Suppose you pay the car dealer $250 to hold open its offer until February 2. Later that day, the dealership notifies you that it is selling to someone else. Result? You can enforce your contract. The car dealer had no power to revoke because you purchased an option.

capacity

The parties must be adults of sound mind

Gap-filler provisions

UCC rules for supplying missing terms

An agreement in which parties intend to form a valid bargain, but a court declares that some rule of law prevents enforcing it is called ?

Unenforceable

noncompetition agreement

a contract in which one party agrees not to compete with another -court have now looked at the basic fairness of contracts since small firms/person may have little leverage. (powers are not equal)

liquidated debt

a debt in which there is no dispute about the amount owed

Which statement is a valid offer?

a detailed advertisment not price quote, auction, typical advertisement.

a creditor on a liquidated debt of 1 million may agree to take which of the following from the debtor in satisfaction of the debt?

a horse in exchange for 1 million that is due 100 cents on the dollar

letter on intent

a letter that summarizes negotiating progress. - It was the parties are considering not what they are agreeing to.

Which creates a bilateral contract

a sale of goods with payment at delivery.

Battle of the Forms UCC 2-207

an additional term is part of the contract only if both parties are merchants and the offer does not expressly limit acceptance to the terms of the offer, the term does not materially alter the deal, and no notification of rejection of the term is given.

executed contract

an agreement which all parties have fulfilled their obligations. "Carol and Al enter a contract to buy a painting. Carol ask Al for the price and Al delivers to Carol the paint."

Additional or Different Terms

an offeree who accepts may include in the acceptance terms that are additional to or different from those in the offer

act

any action that a party was not legally required to take in the first place. Example: Suppose that your professor tells the university that she will not post final grades unless she is paid an extra $5,000. Even if the university agrees to this outrageous demand, that agreement is not a valid contract because the professor is already under an obligation to post final grades.

Additional Terms

are those bring up new issues -offeree states her acceptance is conditional on the offerorsassent to new terms

when may a contract be modidified?

at any time, if parties agree

For consideration to exist, there must be:

bargained for exchange

void agreement

contract neither party can enforce, due to bargain is ILLEGAL, one of parties have no legal authority to make it.

output contract

contract of a producer to sell its entire production or output to a given buyer

What is the term for the legal ability to enter into a binding contract?

contractual capacity

to succeed on a promissory estoppel claim, and plaintiff must show

defendant made a promise on plaintiff defendant knew bout plaintiff would rely on promise plaintiff relied on the defendant's promise

what elements are required for courts to apply doctrine of promissory estoppel? 3 answers

enforcement of promise is necessary to avoid injustice to the promisee There was a detrimental result from reliance on the promise the promise must be definite and relied upon

Performance and Discharge

if a party fully accomplishes what the contract requires, his duties are discharged

unliquidated debt

if the creditor agrees to take less than full amount as full payment, her agreement is not binding.

courts have created three exceptions to the basic rule of consideration:

illusory promises preexisting duties past consideration

which of the following distinguishes promissory estoppel cases from quasi contract?

in promissory estoppel cases there is a promise; in quasi contract cases there is not.

when there is a valid offer outstanding...

it remains efective until its terminated or accepted

consent

kinds of trickery can prevent formation of contract

what conditions must be met for an offer to be legally accepted?

must be unequivocal with no requests for changes in the offer it may only be accepted by the intended offeree agent

Are advertisements offers?

no, advertisements are invitations to offer

your friend meets you for coffee on day driving a brand new scooter. you immediately fall in love with it and offer them 2,000 for it. your friend politely declines and states they paid 3,000 but goes on to say "i may sell you my scooter, if you pay 2,700 if your friend later refuses to go through on the deal, can you hold them liable for breech of contract?

no, because there was never any consideration

Are auctions offers?

no, it is merely a request for an offer.

which of the following is legally sufficient consideration

promise to do a legal act forbearance of legal act

what factors are used to judge if consideration is adequate to ensure a fair bargain? 2 choices

promises exchange may not be preexisting duty promises must be made with voluntary consent

Illusory promises

promisor has not definitely promised to do anything (no promise at all) key word: IF or AS that person wants or likes it!

How can an offer be terminated? 3 options

reasonable amount of time has passed offree may make a counteroffer offeror may terminate an offer by revocation

Auction with reserve vs without reserve

reserve- has a minimum price not- means it has no price

In general, which of these contract terms is required to meet the requirement of definiteness?

subject matter of the contract the parties involved time of payment. terms of performance

different terms

terms that contradict those in the offer. the majority of states hold that different term cancel each other out, instead nuetral terms from code

In a contract, where payment is broken down such that 80 percent of the cost is for the materials and 20 percent is for installation of those materials, the contract will be governed by:

the UCC

open price

the code est. a reasonable price.

What doesn't court analyze in terms of an exchange?

the economic terms to determine consideration adequate

in an auction, the bidder is

the offeror

Battle of the Forms (UCC)

ucc modifies the mirror image rule, adds acceptance or diff terms to the original offer Makes it hard

Contests, lotteries, and competitions with prizes are common examples of:

unilateral contracts

in order for an accord and satisfaction to be valid, debt must be:

unliquidated

which words if added to an offer, will cause the offer to fail for defineteness?

"i will send it to you sometime in the future" "i might want to sell it to you in friday"

4 exceptions to requirement of consideration

-Firm offer -charitbale subscription: while gifts are freely revocable, once a charity "relies" on the gift, it becomes legally binding -shady debt collector: debts can be enforceable due to bankruptcy or limiatations. If debtor agrees to pay a lesser amount, that is now enforceable -promissory estoppel

what are the rules of the valid offer outstanding?

-an offeree accepts doing something that understand to mean that he wants to take the offer -offeree must say or do something to accept/ "saucy cant leave a message making an offer, saying "ill assume you agree unless i hear from you" ..not an acceptance.

Which of the statement is true ? 1) under the ucc, an output contract is enforceable 2)under the ucc, a reuqirmets contract is acceptable a- both B. neither c. Just 1 d. Just 2

A - both of them are acceptable

Past Consideration

A completed act cannot be the basis for consideration

Accord and Satisfaction

A completed agreement to settle a debt for less than the sum claimed

Unenforceable

A contract that was valid when made, but either cannot be proved or will not be enforced by a court

Offeror

A person who makes an offer.

Exception: Modification

An additional consideration is necessary for a modification of contract terms because it is unfair for one party to get something more while the other does not. both parties agree to a modification, accomplish the result you should rescind org. and draft new contract

Am express contract

An express contract is an exchange of promises in which the terms by which the parties agree to be bound are declared either orally or in writing, or a combination of both, at the time it is made.

Frank, an accountant, says to Missy, "I'll sell you my laptop for $100." Missy asks, "Will you give me until tomorrow to make up my mind?" "Sure," Frank replies. Which of the following is true?

Frank can not revoke his offer , but only if missy pays him tomorrow

Non-goods means

Governed by common law example: real estate , intellectual property, and services

termination by rejection

If an offeree rejects an offer, the rejection immediately terminates the offer example: Suppose a major accounting firm calls to offer you a job, starting at $80,000. You respond, "Nah. I'm gonna work on my surfing for a year or two." The next day, you come to your senses and write the firm, accepting its offer. No contract. Your rejection terminated the offer and ended your power to accept it.

Preexisiting Duty

If someone provides a service that she is already obligated to do, that act does not count as consideration

Exception: Different Performance

If the debtor offers a different performance to settle the liquidated debt, and the creditor agrees to take it as full settlement, the agreement is binding

Marco agrees to sell Clown R us some balloons. The contract states that clowns may buy as many balloons as it wishes . This agreement is

Illusory contract, key word :MAY

Arturo hires Kate to work in his new sporting goods store. "Look," he explains, "I can only pay you $9.00 an hour. But if business is good a year from now, and you're still here, I'm sure I can pay you a healthy bonus." Four months later Arturo terminates Kate. She sues.

Kate will win nothing

Authorized Means(accepted upon dispatch )

Means of the offeror (email and mail)

Which of the following requires consideration in order to binding on the parties

Modification of a contract involving the sale of real estate

Carol says, "Pam, you're my best friend in the world. I just inherited a million bucks, and I want you to have some of it. Come with me to the bank tomorrow, and I'll give you $10,000." "Sweet!" Pam replies. Later that day, Carol has a change of heart. She is allowed to do so. Examine the list of the elements of a contract, and cite the correct reason.

Pam did not give consideration

clickwrap agreement

Requires users to accept proposed terms by clicking an "I agree" button. They are binding

Third party interest

Sav and Thav have a contract, but it falls apart after, can I sue to enforce agreement? It depends!

Unauthorized Means (accepted when received)

Suggestions NOT by offeror

Making Contracts Temporarily Irrevocable

Taking this action gives the parties time to evaluate offers

adequacy

The courts examine whether consideration exists, but will seldom inquire if it was enough consideration or a smart financial deal. This is the "peppercorn rule."

Enforceability

Valid contracts are fully enforceable. An unenforceable agreement is one with a legal defect. A voidable contract occurs when one party has an option to cancel the agreement. A void agreement means that the law will ignore the deal regardless of what the parties want.

Exception: Unforeseen Circumstances

When unforeseen circumstances cause a party to make a promise regarding an unfinished project, that promise is generally valid consideration

Past consideration remember

When you do a bargain exchange, it has to be current not before the deal. Age 9 to age 15 you can't go out with him since I took you to Disney but it was now past consideration

implied contract

actions (words and conduct) of the parties indicate that they intended an agreement. No one talks about it! They just stay quiet. Bus ride and the bus driver takes them to destination, no one really talks about the "agreement".

voidable contract

agreement may terminated by one of the parties

remedies

court awards money or relief to party injured by breach of contract.

Quon and Bert signed a contract for Bert to mow the law every week in JUNE JULY AND AUGUST. They have agreed to all terms, but Bert has not yet mowed it since it is May. What type of contract do they have?

executory

Is a price quote an offer?

generally no

What are the three elements of a valid offer? 3 options

intention, definiteness, communication "eric offers to nats house for 25,000 with no contingencies because eric lease ends in two months. Nat thinks about it and six days later has not yet responded".

offer

someone proposes a deal

which factors makes an agreement enforceable under the principle of quasi contract?

the enriched party knows about the benefit and keeps it one party is being enriched at the expense of others.

What does the UCC governs?

the sale and leasing of a good

Open terms with UCC

under ucc, many indefinite contracts are allowed to stand

what is the term for contract agreement in which an offeror promises to pay after the occurrence of a specified act, and offeree is not required to respond in words?

unilateral contract

what are the 3 circumstances to new terms not part of contract?

-offeror insisted on its own terms -add. terms materially alter original offer. -offeror receives new terms and promptly objects.

For UCC, sales of good over 500 must be

In writing

Acceptance requires

Intent to be bound must be definite communicate from oferror

Juan agrees to paint Michelle's house for 1,000. Halfway through the job, Juan tells Michelle that he will need an extra 359 to finish the job. Which of the following is a correct evaluation of the situation?

Michelle will not have to pay the extra 250 because Juan had a preexisting duty to paint the house for 1000

Is invitation to bargain an offer?

NO

must all terms of a deal be included in an offer?

No, but the terms required will depend on the type of contract.

Anna purchases a wedding dress and takes the dress to Jessica for alteration. Anna and Jessica agree that Anna will pay Jessica $75 for the alterations. After Jessica begins working on the dress, she has second thoughts. Jessica contacts Anna and advises her that the alternations will cost $150 instead of $75. Because Anna's wedding is in just two weeks, Anna reluctantly agrees. Once the alterations are completed, Anna pays Jessica the $75 originally agreed on. Is Jessica entitled to the additional $75?

No, jessica is not entitled to add 75 because there is no add consideration for the revision on the contract

Is silence acceptance?

No, silence is not acceptance can be if offree takes benefit of goods and should have known payment is expected the parties have had prior dealings

which situation would be considered sufficient consideration for contract to exist?

Pam agrees to pay Derek 500 if he does not sit next to her in class anymore.

bargained for

When something is sought by the promisor and given by the promisee in exchange for their promises parties must bargain for the consideration

Unliquidated Debt: Accord and Satisfaction

a debt that is disputed because the parties disagree over its existence or amount

Promissory Estoppel

a possible remedy for an injured plaintiff in a case with no valid contract, where the plaintiff can show a promise, reasonable reliance, and injustice "i rely on a promise" -involve employment, but typically plaintiff loses. requires that the defendant made a promise knowing that the plantiff would likely rely and plantiff did so. It would be wrong to deny recovery.

in a bilateral contract, the consideration which supports the forming of the contract is:

a promise to perform

offer

an act or statement that proposes definite terms and permits the other party to create a contract by accepting those terms. -court focus on actual words and conduct. Don't accept MEANT or THOUGHT.

firm offers

if a promise in writing signed by merchant promises to hold the offer open for a period, may not be revoked during that period. ex: So, if the car dealer gives you a piece of paper that reads, "The offer on the green sedan is open at $25,000 until Friday at noon," he cannot revoke the offer before Friday at noon, even though you have not paid him anything.

What are the 7 key characterisitics of contract? what is a contract

legally enforceable agreement offer acceptance consideration legality capacity consent writing

if the requirement are met, which of the following will allow parties to enforce a promise that is otherwise not supported by consideration

promissory estoppel

How can offers be terminated?

revocation, rejection, expiration, and operation of law.

non compete agreements are common features of employment contracts. Currently, courts_____ enforce these clauses

usually

what are the elements of consideration

value and bargained for exchange

writing

verbal agreements often contracts, types of contracts must be in writing

Quasi Contract

court-imposed obligation to prevent unjust enrichment in the absence of a contract (defendant recieved benefit from plaintiff and retained that benefit would be unfair) The plantiff MUST show the defendant was unjustly enriched. example: people came to fix sprinklers, you saw them work and provide drinks to them. You get billed for the wrong adress, and court ordered you to pay for them for their work. you knew about it and did nothing to stop them. The remedy of quasi contract is not available for people that provided services to people that did not want it. Ex: People cleaning windshield and ask for money for it.

In a mixed contract, what does court determine?

primary purpose of the contract of the goods/services.

Unilateral Contract

promise in exchange for an act. BY DOING SOMETHING "I'll give 30 to anyone who can do a handstand for 15 seconds. Mike does it".

bilateral contract

promise made in exchange for another promise "I'll like to buy your textbook for 30. Great I will deliver to you on Monday".

What are the 3 basic questions relating to promises?

1. certain that defendant promised to do something? 2. She/he promise, is it fair to make her/he honor her word? 3. She/He not promise, there unusual reasons to hold her liable anymore?

To encourage the team to keep up the good work, geraldo tells his staff that if they continue the hard work until the end of the quarter and if he is pleased with his profits at the end of it, he will give them each 100 bonus, At the end of the quarter, the companys profits were high. Will geraldo have to make good on his promise of 100 bonus each staff?

No, geraldo will not have to award the bonus because his offer of 100 bonus "if he is pleased "with his profits was an illusory promise. (thats key) so he can get out of that situation

Quon decides to sell his antique roadster, so he places an ad on Craigslist. He lists the roadster as a 1957 Mercedes Benz 300SL Roadster, describes it as in good working condition, and states that no reasonable price will be refused. Fern responds to the ad and offers to pay $25,000 to Quon for the car, which Quon agrees to. In this scenario, who is the offeror?

fern since he says "offer"

Sal had ordered 100 shrimp for his store from Octavio every friday for 5 years. One day, Sal goes on vacation without telling Octavio. Octavio claims that they have a contract, even though it wasn't written down. WHAT KIND OF CONTRACT DO THEY HAVE?

implied in fact

Jones Construction Company is building a series of new subdivisions in Newtown over the next two years. Jones enters into a verbal agreement with Harley Concrete Inc. to construct all the driveways and sidewalks in the subdivisions that Jones will be building. Jones and Harley agree on a price of $130 per cubic yard and that Jones will pay Harley at the end of each project. Harley completes the first project, which is four sidewalks and sixteen driveways, and bills Jones for the project. Jones decides that the price is too high and refuses to pay, claiming that they have no obligation to pay because the parties did not have a valid contract. If Harley sues Jones for payment the court would probably:

quasi contract since its dealing with money or unjust enrichment.

rescind

to cancel

Quantum Meruit

"As much as he deserves" - the damages awarded in a quasi-contract case

What are the 2 questions determine whether a statement is an offer?

- Do the offeror's words and actions indicate an intention to make a bargain? -Are the terms of the offer reasonably definite?

Method and Manner of Acceptance

-If an offer demands acceptance in a particular method or manner, the offeree must follow those requirements. -If the offer does not specify a type of acceptance, the offeree may accept in any reasonable manner and method.

What are 2 ways to achieve legal value

1) act and forbearance

counteroffer

A different proposal was made in response to an original offer it is a rejectionn

Linda goes to an electronic store and buys tv. Becca hires a company to clean her swimming pool .

Becca is governance by common law and Linda by UCC

Madison says to a group of students, "I'll pay $35 to the first one of you who shows up at my house and mows my lawn." Lea posts a flyer around town that reads, "Reward: $500 for information about the person who keyed my truck last Saturday night in the Wag-a-Bag parking lot. Call Lea at 555-5309." Which of these proposes a unilateral contract?

Both

Ted's wallet is as empty as his bank account, and he needs $3500 immediately. Fortunately, he has three gold coins that he inherited from his grandfather. Each is worth $2500, but it is Sunday, and the local rare coins store is closed. When approached, Ted's neighbor Andrea agrees to buy the first coin for $2300. Another neighbor, Cami, agrees to buy the second for $1100. A final neighbor, Lorne, offers "all the money I have on me" - $100 - for the last coin. Desperate, Ted agrees to the proposal. Which of the deals is supported by consideration? (a) Ted's agreement with Andrea, only (b) Ted's agreements with Andrea and Cami, only (c) All three of the agreements (d) None of the agreements

C) all three of the arguments

Termination by Operation of Law

If an offeror dies or becomes mentally incapacitated, the offer terminates automatically and immediately. Destruction of the subject matter terminates the offer.

Performance and Discharge

Party fully accomplishes what the contract requires, his duties are discharged.

valid contract

Satisfies all of the law's requirements

Merchant under the UCC

Transaction for used washer than I am a merchant brand new car- non merchant

Exception: Additional Work

When a party agrees to do something above and beyond what he is obligated to do, his promise is generally valid consideration

termination by expiration

When an offer specifies a time limit for acceptance, that period is binding. if offer has no time limit, offeree has a reasonable period in which to accept ex; Quentin calls you and offers you a job in his next motion picture. He tells you, "I've got to know by tomorrow night." If you call him in three days to accept, you are out of the picture. W

if a buyer agrees to purchase "all the widgets I require" and the seller agrees to sell him "all the widgets you require" is there sufficient consideration?

Yes

Robert inherited lots of antique tools when his father died. Because Robert is not interested in woodworking, he decides to sell several of the tools. Robert agrees to sell an antique hand-held wood planer to Geoffrey for $50. After agreeing to the deal, Robert discovers that the planer is a pre-WWII Norris Jointer Planer worth over $5,000, and refuses to sell the planer to Geoffrey. Can Geoffrey enforce the deal?

Yes, Geoffrey can enforce the deal because the contract contained valid consideration.

an agreement will lack consideration if:

a person makes a promise in return for an act which has already taken place.

executory contract

agreement which one or more parties not yet fullfilled its obligations "Don and Kim entered a contract to buy a car, Dom paid money for the car but Kim didn't"

express contract

agreement with all important terms explicitly stated

What does the courts enforce ?

agreements even if they fail to meet the unusual requirement of a contract.

Alfred is having trouble with his car so he visits his friend Glen, who is a mechanic, for some free advice. Alfred asks Glen just to look at the car and determine what is wrong, but not to fix it. Glen looks at the car, determines the problem, and repairs the car using parts and materials he already had in his garage. Alfred takes the car out for a test drive, and it performs better than it ever has. Alfred tells Glen that because Glen fixed his car, when Alfred gets paid again he will buy Glen the new torque wrench that Glen has been wanting. A week later, Glen asks Alfred about the torque wrench, and Alfred tells Glen that he has changed his mind. If Glen sues Alfred to enforce his promise to buy Glen the torque wrench:

alfred will win because the act of repairing alfreds car is past consideration and therefore no valid contract was formed.

section 2-306 of UCC

allows output and requirements contracts in the sale of goods

Owen offers to sell his motorcycle to Julian for $5,000. After he makes the offer, Owen has second thoughts. Owen can revoke the offer to sell his motorcycle to Julian:

as long as Julian has not yet accepted the offer

Hybridwrap

combine both clipwrap and browse together differences: First, the terms of the agreement are not visible, but rather accessible through a hyperlink. Second, adjacent to the hyperlinked terms is a click-to-consent button. Third, hybridwraps include a notice informing the user that, by clicking the button, the user is agreeing to the terms of the hyperlinked agreement.

requirements contract

contract to buy all requirements of the buyer from the seller

Maryanne offers to sell her 2015 Mustang convertible to April for $15,000, and April agrees to those terms. April brings the $15,000 to Maryanne, and Maryanne promises to deliver the Mustang to April the next day after she has it detailed. At this point, Maryanne and April have:

executory contract- since Maryanne did not technically yet delivered since it says "after she has detailed"

is a advertisment an offer

generally not an offer.

illusory promises a consideration?

is not consideration

tangible goods

items we value or desire that we can reach out and touch. except money, securities, and legal rights (article 2)

consumer protection statue

laws protecting consumers from fraud

consumer protection statue

laws protecting consumers from fraud.

requirement contract

obligates a buyer to obtain all of his needed goods from the seller.

output contract

obligates the seller to sell all of his output to buyer, who agrees to accept it.

unenforceable agreement

occurs when the parties intend to form a valid bargain, but do not.

termination be revocation

offeror may revoke the a offer any time before it has passed

how can legal concepts of accord and satisfaction apply to negotiable instrument? 2 choices

parties can agree to discharge the instrument for less then the states amount UCC provides debtors a way to prove accord and satisfaction

offere

person to whom an offer is made

auctions

placing an item up for action is not an offer- it is merely a request for an offer.

If an individual shopping for groceries opens a bottle of water from their cart before paying for it... what contract did they create?

quasi contract

exception under illusory promises

requirements and output contract

mirror image rule

requires that the terms in the acceptance must exactly match the terms contained in the offer

In general, certain terms must be included in contracts to satisfy the requirement of definiteness. What are the exceptions to this rule? Choose 2 answer choices.

sales contracts under the UCC courts can complete a contract to supply some missing terms

In a unilateral contract...

substantially undertaking performance prevents the offeror from revoking the offer

What is the problems with definteness?

term of offer must be definite recall the courts make objective assesments.

The weekly Kroger advertisement states that five-pound chubs of ground chuck are available for eighty-nine cents per pound. Arlene sees the advertisement; she realizes that ground chuck has not been priced this low in quite some time, so she hurries to the store to purchase some. Arlene loads seven chubs of ground chuck in her shopping cart. When she goes to the checkout to pay, however, the cashier informs Arlene that the price in the advertisement is a typo and that the correct price is $1.89 per pound. Arlene insists that the store must honor the price listed in the advertisement, because it is an offer that she has just accepted. The cashier calls the store manager for a decision. The store manager will likely explain to Arlene:

that ads are not offers but merely a request for offers

UCC (Uniform Commercial Code)

the body of laws governing commercial transactions in the US. -states were getting annoyed that different states handle things different.

legality

the contract must be for a lawful purpose

Ellen offers to sell her 1997 Mustang convertible to Fred for $2,000. Fred agrees to pay $2,000 for Ellen's Mustang. Before Fred picks up the Mustang, Ellen discovers that the Mustang is considered a classic car and is worth much more than $2,000. Ellen refuses to sell the Mustang to Fred, stating that the consideration is insufficient. If Fred tries to enforce the deal by taking Ellen to court:

the court would probably enforce the deal because there was valid consideration on both sides

How may a revocable offer effectively be revoked? Choose 2 answers.

the offeror may withdraw the offer with a clear expression the offeror may take an action that contradicts the offer and make that known to the offree

why would parties use accord and satisfaction regarding a negotiable instrument? 2 choices

the parties might wish to avoid lawsuit parties could wish to end the obligation without further conflict

forbearance

the refraining from an action that one has a legal right to undertake. elderly driver (with a valid driver's license) might promise concerned family members that he will not drive at night.

What does contracts involve regarding shapes and sizes

they can be public or private matter.

acceptance

to accept, party must respond in a way

consideration

to be bargaining that leads to an exchange

Letter of intent

usually, letters to intent do not bind the parties.

browse wrap agreements

websites seek to bind users to their terms just by posting them somewhere on their sites. not require anything are binding when websites give users reasonable notice and access to terms

If unforeseen difficulties arise during the performance of a contract, may the parties change the terms of the contract without giving additional consideration?

yes, if the modification is fair and equitable