Exam 12: Formation of Contracts: Offer and Acceptance

Mary offered to sell Mike several pieces of rare Chinese art at a very good price because they were duplicates in her own collection.Mike could not accept the offer at that time, but he did give Mary $500 in return for her promise to keep her offer open for three (3) weeks.Mike returned with the agreed-upon balance two weeks later to find that Mary already had sold the pieces she had offered to sell to him.Mary explained that she had been able to get a better price from another buyer.She offered to return Mike's $500 and insisted that this was all she was obligated to do.Is Mary right?

In general, an acceptance occurs when:

When an offer has been accepted:

The fact that there has been a series of contracts between the parties and that one party's offer has always been accepted before by the other does not create any legal obligation to continue to accept subsequent offers.

An offer gives the offeror the power to bind the offeree by contract.

If an offeree accepts an offer before it is effectively revoked:

The first statement made by one of two persons can be anyone of the following except:

If an offer requires that acceptance be communicated by a specific date and the acceptance is properly dispatched by the offeree on the final date,

Frank is drunk and while laughing hysterically says to Hal "I'll sell you my truck for a buck". Frank has made a valid offer.

At an auction sale, a statement made by the auctioneer to draw forth bids constitutes an offer.

Contractual intention is determined by objective standards.

Offers, acceptances of offers, and revocations of offers are all effective when mailed in a properly-addressed envelope bearing the proper amount of postage.

Acceptance of an offer to form a unilateral contract need not be communicated to the offeror to be effective.

An acceptance must be absolute and unconditional.

A said to B, "I'll give you $100 for that bracelet." B replied, "$135." A said, "No thanks." B then said that B accepted the $100, but A was no longer interested and said there was no contract.B insists there is a contract.Result?

To make an offer, the offeror must appear to intend to create a binding obligation.

In an auction __________, the auctioneer takes bids as agent for the seller with the understanding that no contract is formed until the seller accepts the transaction.

Under the _______, acceptance of an offer takes place when a properly addressed postage paid mail acceptance is placed in the hands of US Postal Service.

Advertisements that call for an act may be deemed to be a unilateral contract.

An output contract is too vague to be a legally-enforceable agreement.