Let’s talk about some interesting law–no more boring newsletters. You can use this stuff, and sometimes you may need to protect your young ones from it.
Today, I want to talk about contracts. A contract hinges on 3 things, 1. Offer 2. Acceptance and 3. Consideration. Easy, right? Libraries have been filled with the variations of these 3 nuggets, so “No”, not easy. Here’s the thing, An offer is anything–Hey Bob, I will sell you my mower for $50.00. An acceptance, too–can be anything. 2. Sure Julie, I will accept your offer to sell me your mower for $50.00. No problem, right? The Consideration is simply the money….the $50.00. So, why so complex?
Well, Eric and Julie are friendly, but not friends. She knows he’s broke, and he knows she knows, which is why he fully intends to pay her $50.00, $5.00 a week for 10 weeks. Well, Julie needs cash money and is not in the finance business–so she says “I want the full amount in one payment.” Eric can’t do it, but she HAD to know he would pay it out, so according to Eric, she is in breach of their Contract. She had no idea he would want to finance it, so she believes he is in breach of Contract.
The overriding question in this case is whether the problem is a ‘material breach’ of contract. Courts have held that payment is material, so if there is a problem with the method of payment, it’s a big enough problem to void the contract if it isn’t clear. If Eric said, “Man, I thought you were delivering it to my house!” and they live next door to each other–it’s not material. Since the method of payment is in fact material, Eric will have to give the mower back or pay for it in full. If he refuses to give the mower back and continues to make his payments, she will be able to sue him and recover the mower as well as attorney fees and damages, because he is the one in breach of the contract. The problem with this contract is not with the offer, not with the acceptance–but with consideration.
Next month we will talk about different kinds of contracts and whether a contract for sexual performance is enforceable. You will be surprised.
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