| A | B |
|---|
| Offer and Acceptance | There must be an agreement composed of an ____ and an ____ upon which to base the contract |
| Genuine Assent | The agreement must not be based on one party's deceiving another, on an important mistake, or on the use of unfair pressure exerted to obtain the offer or acceptance. |
| Legality | What the parties agree to must be legal. An agreement to commit a crime or tort cannot be a legally enforceable contract. |
| Consideration | The agreement must involve both sides receiving what the law considers value in some form as a result of the transaction. |
| Capacity | To have a completely enforceable agreement, the parties must have the legal ability to contract for themselves. |
| Writing | Some agreements must be placed in ___ to be fully enforceable in court. |
| Jests (contractual intent) | If you think you are joking, but a reasonable person would interpret your conduct as indicating that you intend to contract, you have made an offer. On the other hand, if you are serious, but a reasonable person would interpret your conduct as a joke, then no legally enforceable offer is made. |
| Statements Made in Anger or Terror (contractual intent) | Yelling after someone who has just stolen your watch, "Stop thief - I'll pay anyone who stops her $100," is not looked upon as being a valid offer by the law. |
| Preliminary Negotiations (contractual intent) | Information often is communicated merely to induce someone to initiate bargaining. Such statements are not seen by the law as indicating an intent to contract. |
| Social Agreements (contractual intent) | Social arrangements do not create legal obligations. |
| Offer Must Be Communicated to the Offeree | A person who is not the intended offeree cannot accept the offer; nor can a person accept an offer without knowing it has been made. |
| Complete (essential terms) | Nearly all offers must, at a minimum, identify the price, subject matter, and quantity, either directly of indirectly, to be ___. |
| Definite (essential terms) | Each essential term must be identified clearly. |
| offeror | The party who communicates a serious, definite offer. |
| offeree | The party to whom an offer is made. |
| offer | A proposal by an offeror to do something, provided the offeree does something in return. |
| Counteroffer (specifically with regards to ending an offer) | In making a counteroffer, the offeree says in legal effect, "I refuse your offer; here is my proposal." The counteroffer terminates the original offer. |
| counteroffer (simple definition) | A change the offeree makes to the offeror’s terms. |
| Death or Insanity (specifically with regards to ending an offer) | Contracts are agreements voluntarily entered into by the parties and subject to their control; when these occur in the offeror or the offeree, the law acts for these parties when they can no longer act and terminates their offers. |
| Destruction of the Specific Subject Matter (specifically with regards to ending an offer) | If the offer refers to unique subject matter, such as Melissa's card collection, and it is subsequently destroyed, for example in a fire, the offer is automatically terminated. |
| firm offer (simple definition) | A contractual proposal in writing by a merchant stating how long the offer is to stay open. |
| Firm Offers (with regards to "how can an offer be kept open?") | If a written offer contains a term stating how long it is to stay open, this is what it is called. |
| Options (with regards to "how can an offer be kept open?") | If the offeree gives the offeror something of value in return for a promise to keep the offer open, this agreement is itself a binding contract. |
| options (simple definition) | binding contract in which the offeree gives the offeror something of value in return for a promise to keep the offer open. |
| Reasonable Length of Time (specifically with regards to ending an offer) | When nothing is said in the offer about how long it will remain open, it will end after a reasonable length of time. What constitutes a reasonable length of time depends on all the surrounding circumstances. |
| Rejection by the Offeree (specifically with regards to ending an offer) | When an offeree clearly rejects the offer, the offer is terminated. Unless renewed by the original offeror, the offeree can no longer accept the original offer. |
| revocation (simple definition) | The right to withdraw an offer before it is accepted. |
| Revocation by the Offeror (specifically with regards to ending an offer) | After an offer has been made, the offeror can generally revoke it anytime before it is accepted by the offeree. |
| Time Stated in the Offer (specifically with regards to ending an offer) | In making an offer, the offeror may state how and when the offer must be accepted; when that time has passed, the offer expires, and there is no contract. |
| Acceptance | Occurs when a party to whom an offer has been made agrees to the proposal. |
| mirror image rule | The rule that the terms in the acceptance must exactly match the terms contained in the offer. |
| bilateral contracts | Contracts in which the offer implies that it can be accepted by giving a promise instead of performing the contracted-for act. |
| unilateral contracts | Contracts in which the offeror requires that the offeree indicate acceptance by performing his or her obligations under the contract. |
| modes of contractual communication | Means of communication such as face-to-face, telephone, text messaging, mail, delivery service, email, facsimile (fax) machine, or other methods. |
| requirements of an effective acceptance | Under the UCC, if the acceptance of an offer for the sale or purchase of goods is by a reasonable means, it is effective when sent. Oral acceptances are effective at the moment the words are spoken directly to the offeror. Acceptances sent by mail generally take effect when properly posted. |
