Case BUS205 Business Law: Contract Law
Scenario 1.
At the point of formation, the written contract the terms of the agreement are expressly spelled out and both parties make promises; the seller is to deliver the boat to the parking space while the buyer is to wire the money to the seller’s account making it an explicit and bilateral contract (Mayer, Warner & Siedel, 2012). The buyer’s failure to meet their obligation of wiring the money makes it a partially executed contract (Mayer et al., 2012). If the buyer brings a suit for the completion of the agreement, he would be unsuccessful. The buyer’s admission into a rehab facility for mental exhaustion and heavy drug use puts his capacity to enter into a contract into question. Real assent is a necessary legal element in the formation of a valid contract (Mayer et al., 2012). A party without the mental capacity to enter into a contract can either affirm the commitment or forfeit it once they are lucid (Mayer et al., 2012).
Scenario 2.
In this scenario, the farmer fulfills his obligation by delivering his chicken to the rotisserie chicken restaurant. Yet, the buyer does not pay because of his alleged poor quality; this makes it a partially executed contract (Mayer et al., 2012). The dispute would be avoided if the written agreement had stipulations that define the quality of the chicken to be delivered. The parties could have determined their standards or chosen to follow the rules set by other entities such as the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). If the farmer files a lawsuit for breach of conduct, he is likely to receive payment for his product. Ambiguity in contracts is often resolved by rewriting the agreement to be more specific. Since the farmer has already fulfilled a delivery, the ambiguous term will most likely be interpreted according to its industry usage of the term good quality. In the chicken farming industry, ‘Grade A’ rating within the USDA guidelines is the highest qualification for quality.
Scenario 3
The scenario describes an oral agreement between two people. The offeree records a video of the offeror making the offer—the $100 placed in consideration. Since the placing of a bet does not constitute the sale of a good, the Statute of Fraud does not require a written contract in this instance. Therefore, the offeree can establish the presence of an oral agreement using the video, which supports his version of events. The oral contract would be enforceable.
Scenario 4
In the event of a breach of contract, some oral agreements unenforceable. The Statute of Frauds stipulates that contracts which cannot be fulfilled within one year or are for the sale of goods worth at least $500 must be put in writing and signed by the party from whom performance is being sought (DuBoff, 2004). In the scenario, the sale of the palm tree for $850 and the two-year lawn mowing agreement would not be enforceable. The purchase of an exotic house plant for $400 would be applicable.
Scenario 5
Oral agreements are generally valid and enforceable if they adhere to the Statute of Frauds and can be established by either party (DuBoff, 2004). If the parties of an agreement do not wish to write down the terms of the contract, the best way to avoid future disagreement is to record the terms or have an impartial witness present. A recording or a witness will be able to help ascertain the terms set during the formulation of the oral contract.
Reference
DuBoff, L. (2004). Contracts. In Law (in plain English) for small businesses. Naperville, IL: Sphinx Publishing.
Mayer, D., Warner, D. M., & Siedel, G. J. (2012). Business Law and the Legal Environment.