Exam 6: Formation of Contracts

If a person offers to hold his offer open for a period of time, he can still revoke it before that time if he changes his mind.

Which of the following is an ingredient necessary to form a contract?

"A good example of an offer is goods placed on the shelves in a self-service merchandising situation, so long as they are clearly marked in price." Explain the accuracy of that statement.

Jones was a caterer; Smith was a florist. Jones won a contract to provide a banquet for a convention of florists. He wanted to decorate the hall with flowers. He sent a letter to Smith describing what he wanted and asked for a price quote. Smith responded by a letter dated January 5, offering to supply the flowers for $5,000. Jones received the letter on January 10 and responded on the same date saying his price was too high and that he would pay $4,500. While that letter was in the mail but before it had been received by Smith, Jones learned that the convention was on artificial flowers and the organizers wanted no real flowers on display. On January 13, Jones quickly sent another letter telling Smith to ignore the letter of January 10 and that he wouldn't need any flowers at this time. This letter of the 13th was received on the 18th. Smith had received the letter of January 10 on January 15 and sent his letter of acceptance on the same day, and he had placed orders to his suppliers for the flowers. The letter of acceptance was received by Jones on January 20. Which of the following is true?

Carlos visited Vancouver last summer and instead of going back to Ontario he stayed and enrolled at Simon Fraser University. He needed money but didn't need things left in Ontario, including his car. In mid-December, he wrote a friend and offered to sell the car for $4,000 and told him to send him a letter with his answer. His friend received the letter on January 2, checked his financial situation, and sent a letter of acceptance January 3. Meanwhile Carlos, short of cash and not hearing from his friend, sold the car to Mr. Reno on December 31. Carlos received his friend's letter January 8. On these facts, which of the following is true?

Discuss the requirements for a valid offer, explaining both how an offer is to be communicated and how such an offer can be brought to an end.

A contract with fixed terms prepared by a business is known as ________.

What is an interim agreement?

Only the essential terms of a contract must be set out in the offer.

For the requirement of consideration to be satisfied, at least one of the parties must have performed what they promised.

Which of the following shows the use of the doctrine of promissory (equitable) estoppel?

Jed, who lived on Cape Breton Island, needed money for a trip to France. He decided to sell his electric guitar. On Monday, October 29, he called the owner of a music store in Halifax and offered to sell his Fender Stratocaster guitar for $400, the offer to be open until Friday noon, November 2. Jed told the store owner to send a letter of acceptance since he (Jed) would be away for a few days. The store owner examined his inventory and mailed a letter of acceptance on Thursday, November 1. When Jed returned home on Saturday, November 3, the letter had not yet arrived, so that afternoon he sold the guitar to a music teacher in his town. The store owner in Halifax sued for breach of contract. Which of the following is true?

With regard only to the requirement of consideration, which one of the following would be a binding contract?

Although the contract called for the delivery of three manuals, the writer had put so much effort into the first two that the buyer agreed to pay the whole contract price, $3,000, for the two instead of the three manuals. Which of the following stops the buyer from later suing the writer for breach of contract and demanding the completion of the third manual?

The postbox rule makes it clear that, when people choose to communicate by mail, they take the risk of delay or loss, and the acceptance as a result will be binding only when or if received.

Roberts has the chance to buy three adjacent city lots zoned "duplex." The most profitable return would be the building of four townhouses across the three lots, but that would necessitate getting permission from the city, and that procedure takes time. If Roberts buys a 60-day option from the seller of the properties for $400, which of the following is false?

An ad in the newspaper providing for a reward of a lost dog is an example of an invitation to treat.

Joe drove his car to a shopping mall and parked it there to attend a movie. The place where he parked was designated as a one-hour parking space on a sign at the entrance where Joe drove in. There were many similar signs around the shopping mall stating that people were parking their cars at their own risk. But this particular sign said that the time limit for parking there was one hour, and as a term of the contract anyone parking over this one-hour limit would have to pay a fee of $60. When Joe got out of the movie, he found a ticket on his car (a demand for payment of the $60). He refused to pay and was sued. What would be Joe's defence in these circumstances?

Distinguish between a formal and a simple contract.

George contracted with Bob to have a racing bike modified for him to be delivered on February 20, 2011, for a race on February 22. The price for the modification was agreed on $100. About February 10, George became nervous about the bike being finished on time and went to see Bob. Bob said that he was very busy, but if he really wanted to be sure that it would be finished on time, George would have to pay him an extra $25 so he could pay his employees overtime. George agreed and Bob completed the modifications as requested, on time. How much does George legally owe?