BA 330 Chapter 14

True or false: If the offeree makes a mistake and sends the acceptance to the wrong address, there is acceptance on dispatch.

False

Which party to a contract is said to be the "master of their offer"?

Offeree

Who has the power to decide by what means an offer can validly be accepted?

Offeror

The means by which the offeree can communicate a valid acceptance to the offeror may be: _______.

expressly stated in the offer implied from the facts and circumstances surrounding the communication of the offer to the offeree

In this case, a(n) _______ contract is created when the offeree is silent but receives a legal benefit.

implied-in-fact

Identify a scenario where the parties have agreed that the silence will be considered acceptance.

A person has a library subscription that is renewed automatically unless he or she explicitly asks to stop the subscription.

If the offer does not make it clear how the offeree should respond, in what way can the offeree respond under the contract?

By giving the offeror a return promise as consideration By performing the required acts of the contract

In the context of contractual offers, if an offeree changes his or her mind after dispatching a rejection by certified mail, what can the offeree do to ensure that the contract is formed?

Communicate acceptance by another mode of communication before rejection reaches the offeror.

What is the term for an offer made by the offeree to the offeror proposing a substituted bargain differing from the original proposed offer?

Counteroffer

An offeror may try to avoid being bound to a contract by later claiming she was only joking when she made the offer. Which of the following is an accurate statement regarding the willingness of a court to consider such evidence?

Courts are generally not interested in such evidence of hidden intent.

What conditions would legally cause an offer to be immediately terminated?

Death of the offeror Offeror loses legal capacity to be in a contract

What type of contract is formed when the offeree receives the benefits of offered services with a reasonable opportunity to reject them and knows that some form of compensation is expected, yet remains silent?

Implied-in-fact

Under what circumstances will an offeror not be able to rescind a unilateral contract offer?

In instances where the offeree has already started to perform under the contract

In the absence of a description in the offer of what form of communication must be used to form a valid acceptance, what methods of communication are generally accepted as reasonable?

In person communication Email communication Telephone communication

What form of intent must an offeror have in creating a contractual offer?

Intent to be bound by the offeree's acceptance

In the context of contractual offers, which of the following statements best describes express authorization?

It is the specific mode of communication of acceptance that is stated in the offer.

______ terms allow a court to determine damages if one of the parties breaches the contract.

Material

Under common law, what types of terms must be included in a valid contractual offer?

Material terms, all major items necessary for mutual consent that are clearly laid out

What are some things that could be material terms in a valid contract?

Price of goods Parties involved

What are methods by which termination of a contractual offer can occur?

Revocation by the offeror Counteroffer by the offeree

As a general rule, what effect does silence have in formation of contracts?

Silence cannot be used to form a contract.

A valid contractual offer must be communicated to what party?

The agent of the offeree who is acting on behalf of the offeree The offeree

How would a court likely respond to an offeror's attempt to avoid contract liability by claiming she was merely joking when she made an offer to the offeree? (Assume the offeree accepted the offer based on the reasonable belief that the offer was legitimate.)

The court would enforce the contract, since courts are not usually interested in an offeror's hidden intent.

Which of the following is not a basic common-law requirement for a valid acceptance?

The offeree's written acceptance, dispatched by certified mail, to the offeror

In the context of contractual offers, which of the following statements is true of unilateral offers?

The offeror must give the offeree a reasonable time to complete it if the offeree has begun performing.

When is it reasonable to assume that the offeree's silence constitutes acceptance?

When the previous course of dealings between the parties have established such a pattern of behavior

A valid offer under common law requires which of the following elements?

You need the intent to be bound by an acceptance. There must be definite and certain terms. The offer must be properly communicated to the offeree.

If the offer merely authorizes certain modes of acceptance, but does not condition acceptance on the use of those modes, use of an unauthorized means of acceptance is: _______.

acceptable

Parties to a contract can agree before hand that the silence is a form of ______.

acceptance

In a(n) ______ contract, the offeror makes a promise in return for a promise from the offeree.

bilateral

Under the Restatement (Second) of Contracts, if no mode of communication is specified in an offer, then acceptance: _______.

can occur through any reasonable means

Under the common law mirror-image rule, if an offer and acceptance do not have the exact terms in the contract, then the acceptance is treated as a(n) _______.

counter offer

Under common law, a valid contractual offer will be:_______.

definite in its terms certain in its terms

Suppose Jeremy offers a job to Carol but states in the offer, "I must receive your acceptance by email before 5:00PM September 5" Carol puts her signed acceptance in the mail September 3rd but the acceptance does not arrive until September 7th. Jeremy and Carol have: _______.

no agreement, because Carol did not accept in the manner and time specified in the offer

If it is not clear whether the ______ wants performance or a return promise, the offeree has the option of either performing or making a return promise.

offeror

As a general rule, ______ cannot be used to form a contract.

silence

Assume that an offer merely authorizes certain modes of acceptance, but does not condition acceptance on the use of those modes. In such a situation, if the offeree uses an unauthorized means of acceptance: _______.

the acceptance creates a valid contract upon receipt by the offeror

As a general rule, a revocation of an offer is effective when ______.

the offeree receives it

Under the mailbox rule, a revocation is effective: _______.

when received by the offeree

In the context of a contractual offer, silence by the offeree can be interpreted as acceptance when ______.

the two parties have a long-standing relationship where rejection is immediately communicated by the offeree

Under the mailbox rule, acceptance is valid: _______.

when it is mailed by the offeree

What are the elements of a contractual offer?

Offer must contain definite terms Intent by the offeror to be bound by the agreement Offer must be communicated to the offeree

Which of the following is an element in the formation of a contractual offer?

Offer must include serious intent by the offeror to be bound to an agreement

Promissory estoppel is the contractual concept that: _______.

one party reasonably relied on another's promise and due to that reliance, the court won't allow the revocation of the offer now