BGEN 361 Ch. 12
acceptance
(1) In contract law, the offeree's notification to the offeror that the offeree agrees to be bound by the terms of the offeror's proposal. (2) In negotiable instruments law, the drawee's signed agreement to pay a draft when presented.
What conditions must be met for an offer to be legally accepted? Choose 2 answers.
1. It may only be accepted by the intended offeree or the offeree's agent. 2. Acceptance must be unequivocal with no requests for changes in the offer.
Lilly hired Harris Lawn Service to cut her grass one summer, and paid through automatic charges to her credit card. After taking three months off for winter weather, Harris staff cut Lilly's grass for four weeks in a row before charging the fees on Lilly's credit card. Lilly protested the charges, stating she did not hire the company to cut grass for the second summer. Harris sues Lilly. What law applies? Choose 2 answer choices.
1. Lilly's silence is acceptance because the offeree accepted the benefit offered. 2. Lilly's silence is acceptance because of the parties' past dealings.
Which of the following words, if added to an offer, will cause the offer to fail for definiteness? (Select two)
1. Might, as in "I might want to sell you my boat for $1000" 2. In the future, as in "I will sell you my boat sometime in the future for $1000"
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.
1. Sales contracts under the UCC 2. Courts can complete a contract to supply some missing items.
How may an offer be terminated? Choose 3 answers.
1. The offeree may make a counteroffer. 2. A reasonable amount of time has passed. 3. An offeror may terminate an offer by revocation.
How may a revocable offer effectively be revoked? Choose 2 answers.
1. The offeror may withdraw the offer with a clear expression. 2. The offeror may take an action that contradicts the offer and make that known to the offeree.
What elements are required for an offer to be effective under the common law? Choose 3 answers.
1. The terms of the offer must be reasonably definite so that all parties understand them. 2. The offer must be communicated to the offeree. 3. The offeror must intend to be bound by the offer.
mirror image rule
A common law rule that requires, for a valid contractual agreement, that the terms of the offeree's acceptance adhere exactly to the terms of the offeror's offer.
e-contracts
A contract that is entered into in cyberspace and is evidenced only by electronic impulses (such as those that make up a computer's memory), rather than, for example, a typewritten form.
option contract
A contract under which the offeror cannot revoke his or her offer for a stipulated time period and the offeree can accept or reject the offer at any time during this period. The offeree must give consideration for the option to be enforceable.
Which act or statement is a valid offer?
A detailed advertisement
agreement
A meeting of two or more minds in regard to the terms of a contract; usually broken down into two events—an offer by one party to form a contract, and an acceptance of the offer by the person to whom the offer is made.
offer
A promise or commitment to perform or refrain from performing some specified act in the future.
forum-selection clause
A provision in a contract designating the court, jurisdiction, or tribunal that will decide any disputes arising under the contract.
mailbox rule
A rule providing that an acceptance of an offer becomes effective on dispatch.
In general, which of these contract terms is NOT required to meet the requirement of definiteness?
Acceptance
record
According to the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, information that is either inscribed on a tangible medium or stored in an electronic or other medium, and that is retrievable.
partenring agreement
An agreement between a seller and a buyer who frequently do business with each other on the terms and conditions that will apply to all subsequently formed electronic contracts.
click-on agreement
An agreement that arises when a buyer, engaging in a transaction on a computer, indicates his or her assent to be bound by the terms of an offer by clicking on a button that says, for example, "I agree"; sometimes referred to as a click-on license or a click-wrap agreement.
counteroffer
An offeree's response to an offer in which the offeree rejects the original offer and at the same time makes a new offer.
Which of the following is a valid offer?
Eric offers to buy Arun's house for $775,000 with no contingencies because Eric's lease ends in two months. Arun wants to think about it and six days later has not yet responded.
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 is the offeror.
Which of the following statements is an offer?
I will sell you my house for $400,000.
revocation
In contract law, the withdrawal of an offer by an offeror. Unless an offer is irrevocable, it can be revoked at any time prior to acceptance without liability.
Must all terms of a deal be included in an offer?
No, but the terms required will depend on the type of contract.
browse-wrap terms
Terms and conditions of use that are presented to an Internet user at the time a product, such as software, is downloaded but that need not be agreed to before the product is installed or used.
What happens when a party with the right to avoid a contract chooses to not avoid it?
The contract is ratified.
You haven't used your professional camera in a while, so you offer to sell it to your friend who just started photography classes at the local college. Later in the day, you start having second thoughts. You call your friend and tell her that you changed your mind, and the camera is not for sale after all. What do you think would happen if your friend tried to enforce your offer and make you sell her the camera?
Your friend cannot force you to sell her the camera because you let her know you changed your mind before she accepted the offer.
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.
If two parties have an on-going oral agreement that that one will ship and the other will accept 50 pounds of produce each week unless the buyer informs the seller one week before not to ship the next order, then the buyer's failure to speak up and tell the shipper not to send the produce:
qualifies as acceptance of that week's delivery offer.
Milo is the owner of a sporting goods store that has only been open for three months. The holiday season is coming up, and Milo realizes that he will need extra help. Milo asks his friend Jess to help him out at the store. Milo and Jess agree that Jess will work during the months of November and December. However, because Milo is unsure how much help he will need and how much he will be able to pay, they agree to decide each week on the hours that Jess will work for the following week, and to decide the hourly rate after Jess has worked two weeks before she receives her first paycheck. Just before November 1, Jess takes a job at another store. If Milo tries to sue Jess for breach of contract, the court will probably decide:
that the parties had no contract because the terms of the offer were not definite.
In an auction, the bidder is:
the offeror.
shrink-wrap agreement
An agreement whose terms are expressed in a document located inside a box in which goods (usually software) are packaged; sometimes called a shrink-wrap license.
e-signature
As defined by the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, "an electronic sound, symbol, or process attached to or logically associated with a record and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record."
What type of acceptance requires an affirmative action for the offeree to accept that offer?
Unilateral contracts
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 advertisements are not offers, but merely a request for offers.
Sarah is shopping at Sylvia's thrift store, and notices that the inside of the store needs repainting. Sarah offers to paint the store for $400. Sylvia does not respond to Sarah's offer. Later that day, Sarah returns to the store with painting supplies in hand and begins painting the store. When Sarah is finished, she demands payment of $400 from Sylvia. Will Sylvia have to pay Sarah for painting the store?
Yes, Sylvia will have to pay Sarah for painting the store, even though she did not verbally agree to the contract.
