Having knowledge of contract law is quite significant for everyday life as people are prone to enter into contracts more often than not. This report examines the contract law by answering a set of questions and examining some case studies. References are given to support the arguments made in the paper.
When an Offer ceases to be Effective
Sirhindi defined an offer as “a statement by one party of a willingness to enter into a contract on stated terms” (3). There are many ways in which an offer may become ineffective. When an offer is revoked before its acceptance then it becomes ineffective; this was the case in Routledge v Grant. An offer can also be ineffective if it is rejected as was the case of Hyde v Wrench. It has been pointed out that when there is a request for more information as was the case of Stevenson v McLean it does not account for making an offer ineffective. An offer will also become ineffective after the set time has elapsed or if a reasonable time has elapsed as in the case of Ramsgate Victoria Hotel v Montefiore. If an offer involves personal services and either the offeror or the offeree dies then the offer becomes ineffective (Sirhindi 4). An offer may become ineffective in many ways. Generally, any situation which will make an offer not to be concluded into a contract makes an offer ineffective.
The case of Ali
The case of Ali can best be solved by going through the conditions stipulated by the mailbox rule. According to Smith, “The mailbox rule is a doctrine in contract law which states that if mail is a reasonable method of conveyance for an acceptance, the acceptance becomes valid on the date that it is dropped in the mailbox and postmarked” (1). In the case of Ali, it should be noted that the post was seemingly acceptable as means of executing the offer. It should also be noted that an acceptance was sent on the same day. The acceptance should therefore be considered valid since it was posted within a reasonable time that was on the same day that the offer was received. Furthermore, it is worth noting that the offer did not have any time attachment and thus the delay of the acceptance to reach Yasmin should not be regarded as a factor. It is indicated that Yasmin left a message with Ali’s friend on withdrawal of the offer. This revocation cannot be considered valid due to the fact that the right channel was not used. Yasmin issued an oral command on the withdrawal of the offer instead of posting a revocation of the offer. The revocation therefore should not be considered valid and furthermore, Ali’s friend was not generally agreed to act as an agent in the offer. Therefore Ali should consider the offer effective and should contact Yasmin and tell him so. In the event that Yasmin fails to honor the offer then Ali ought to seek legal remedy. In the event that Yasmin had expressed her offer open for seven days, the offer would still be effective because the acceptance had reached Yasmin within three days.
Conditions, Warranties and Innominate terms
It has been noted to be very important for the difference between a term and representation to be made because a term is part of the contract implying that it is legally binding. A representation has been viewed as a statement made with an aim of getting a person into a contract. A term is legally binding and can be differentiated from representation by using the following tests. The significance of the statement should be considered, for instance, if the absence of a statement can make a party to the contract quit then such a statement is a term. The time difference between when the statement was made and the contract entered into determines whether a statement is a term or not. If the time difference is long then that statement may not be considered a term. When a party to the contract having special skills on the contract makes a statement then such a statement is treated as a term.
It is important to identify whether a statement is a term so as to identify whether a breach of a contract has taken place or not. Terms are of three types: conditions, warranties and innominate terms.
Conditions and Warranties
A condition has been defined as a basic part of a contract. In the event that a condition is breached the options available are to end the contract or continue but later seek payment for damages resulting from the breach (Legal Environment 16). A warrant does not form a basic part of the contract and thus its breach cannot lead to the termination of a contract but rather suing for damages after the contract is completed (Legal Environment 17). For a court to differentiate between a condition and a warranty it has to be shown that one is basic to the contract (condition) and that if it is breached then the contract has to be terminated (Legal Environment 18).
To illustrate the difference between a condition and a warrant two cases of opera singers can be used. In the first case, a singer is contracted to sing on some given days at an event but falls ill and ends up showing up after the event has already kicked off. In this case, the singer has breached a condition that will lead to the termination of the contract. In a different scenario if a singer is contracted to perform in an event and is supposed to show up for some practice sessions which he/she fails but manages to show up for the event in time then the contract cannot be broken. The singer just breached a warrant but did not breach a condition because he/she was available to perform at the event (Legal Environment 19).
Innominate Terms
These have been described to be either warranties or conditions depending on the extent of the breaching. If the breaching is considered to be so serious that the performance of the contract is affected then a court may view it as a condition but in case the breaching is less serious then it may be viewed as a warranty (Legal Environment 24). A good example to illustrate this is when a used car is being sold. If the seller claims that the car has done 20,000 miles while in truth it has done 21,000 miles then such a statement can be regarded as a warranty but if the car has done 50,000 miles then such a statement is a condition because the difference of 30,000 in millage cannot be viewed as insignificant when referring to car millage. Therefore for a court to determine whether an innominate term is a condition or a warrant it has to examine the breach and find out how seriously it affects the contract (Legal Environment 26).
The Case of Angela
The case of Angela is an example of ignorance displayed by other people in regard to issues concerning contact procedures. Starting with Phillip it is worth noting that he is bound legally to finish the work contracted by the end of December. His claims that he had too much work and could not start working on Angela’s tasks were not part of the agreement and therefore no extra money should be paid to him. Phillip having completed the task within the time agreed with Angela is not entitled to any extra payment. The case of Colleen and John are issues of mutual agreements which cannot be legally enforced since there is no contract entered into. There is no contract entered into between John & Angela and Colleen & Angela. Angela is only morally and not legally obligated to give some considerations to Colleen and John (Pozgar 72).
References
Legal Environment. The Terms of a contract. Legal Environment, n.d. Web.
Pozgar, George. Legal aspects of health care administration. New York: Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2007. Print.
Sirhindi, Zoha. The Law of Contract. Documents for small Business & Professionals, 2010. Web.
Smith, Seth. What is the mailbox rule? Wisegeek, 2010. Web.