Chapter 1 - Contract Formation

Question 1

Offeror definition

Answer 1

The offeror is the person making the offer

Question 2

Offeree defintion

Answer 2

The offeree is the person to whom an offer is being made

Question 3

What are the 2 conditions of a valid offer ?

Answer 3

1. It must be an outward manifestation of the offeror willingness to contract
2. The offeror must show signal that acceptance would conclude the deal

Question 4

Types of outward manifestation

Answer 4

Oral
In writing
Gesture

Question 5

What are the situations where you have multiple offerees ?

Answer 5

1. Commercial advertisement
2. Self-Limiting rewards
3. Open-field rewards
4. Auctions

Question 6

What particularity does have the commercial advertisement and what is the exception ?

Answer 6

According to the Common Law rule, commercial advertisement is considered as an invitation to offer unless the ad specifies a certain amount of goods

Question 7

The 2 types of rewards and their definition

Answer 7

Self-limiting rewards : Task to be performed only once
Ex : bounties

Open-field rewards : Rewards offers which indicate the task to be performed, the task can potentially be performed by multiple parties
Ex : 50$ for anyone who run for 1 hour

Question 8

Reward definition

Answer 8

Generally rewards are treated as offers bc they promise money in exchange for performance of a specific task.

Question 9

What is an auction ? What are called the offer and the participants ?

Answer 9

Auction = invitation to offer
Offers = Responsive bids
People making offer = biding people

Question 10

What does the offer create ?

Answer 10

The power of acceptance in the offeree

Question 11

The 4 ways to determinate the power of acceptance

Answer 11

1. Lapse of time
2. Death or incapacity
3. Revocation by offeror
4. Rejection by offeree

Question 12

What is reasonableness stop trade ? What would it be ?

Answer 12

It is a doctrine that determine what is the reasonable time when the offeror can revoke

• Subject matter and market conditions
• Degree of urgency and means of transmission

Question 13

What is conversation ?

Answer 13

The face-to-face conversation rule allows an offer to lapse at the end of the conversation

Question 14

Definition lapse of time

Answer 14

An offer lapses after the time stated in the offer is over or after a reasonable amount of time

Question 15

Death or incapacity

Answer 15

Death or incapacity of either party terminate the power or acceptance

Question 16

What are the requirements of the revocability of the offeror ? (3)

Answer 16

1. The offer must be revoke before the acceptance of the offeree
2. Revocation must be communicated to the offeree
3. You need to revoke the offer the same way you announced it

Question 17

Rejection by the offeree

Answer 17

If the offeree changed his mind after that, the offer is not open, the offeree rejected it himself

Question 18

What are the three ways of the rejection by the offeree ? (3)

Answer 18

1. Outward rejection
2. Rejection by counter-offer
3. Rejection by non-conforming acceptance (no mirroring)

Question 19

What are the 2 requirements of an effective acceptance ?

Answer 19

1. Acceptance must mirror the terms of the offer = mirror image rule
2. Acceptance must be communicated to the offeror

Question 20

What if offeror stipulates particular mean of accepting ?

Answer 20

It becomes the offeree’s mean of acceptance

Question 21

How silence as a mean of communication can be reasonable ? (3)

Answer 21

1. It must be the same way the offer was made
2. If it’s a customarily way of communicating
3. If the means of communication is equivalent in speed & in reliability to the mean used by offeror

Question 22

What are the 3 exceptions to the requirements that acceptance must be communicated ?

Answer 22

1. Acceptance by silence
2. Unilateral contract
3. Mailbox rule

Question 23

Acceptance by silence (3)

Answer 23

• When the offeree takes the benefit of the offeror services with a reasonable opportunity to reject them with the reason to know that compensation was expected
• The offeror has given the offeree a reason to understand that acceptance may be communicated through silence
• Previous dealings

Question 24

Unilateral contract

Answer 24

In its settings, acceptance is affected only by completing performance.
Communication typically is not required unless the offer provides otherwise

Question 25

Mailbox rule

Answer 25

Common Law mailbox rule = acceptance by mail is effective upon dispatch so long as it’s properly posted

Question 26

How can a seller accept a buyer offer ? (2)

Answer 26

With prompt shipment of the goods

By sending non-conforming goods if he doesn’t have the proper goods anymore

Question 27

What is bargain theory ?

Answer 27

A promise is unenforceable unless supported by consideration.

The promise has some value and must be exchange for something else of value.

= Quid pro quo (consideration is quid pro quo/bargain for exchange)

Question 28

The common problem occuring in Contract Law ?

Answer 28

Gratuitous promise : it is a promise to make a gift, this promise lacks of consideration, generally unenforceable = no quid pro quo

Question 29

In gratuitous promise there is either what ?

Answer 29

• lacks of consideration
• want of consideration
• no consideration
• not supported by consideration

Question 30

Failure of consideration

Answer 30

One of the party didn’t act according to the consideration of what was supposed to give

Question 31

Promissory estoppel

Answer 31

It is a legal principle in which a promise is enforceable by law even if made without formal consideration = acceptance of consideration

Question 32

Promissory estoppel case

Answer 32

When the promisor made a promise to the promisee and when this one relied on that promise to his detriment

Question 33

4 requirements in order to have promissory estoppel

Answer 33

1. A promise
2. Forseeable reliance
3. Actual reliance
4. Injustice without enforcement