Law Of Contract Case Study Assignment.

Contracts are one of the central features that characterize the contemporary way of life.
This is evidenced by the fact that virtually all activities that are engaged in today are done so
through the presence of one type of contract or the other. Therefore, it can be stated that
contracts are an integral part of strengthening and harnessing relationships and group related
networks. Moreover, this essential tool serves as a mini system through which the legal fraternity
provides its own provisions that are meant to govern how two parties should consent to a given
situation. The law of contracts is a special branch under the justice system that is meant to confer
rights and obligations on different kinds of contracts 1 . Law Of Contract Case Study Assignment. In fact, this arm of the law is critically important and fundamental because many businesses, companies, deals and personal agreements
revolve round signing of one contract or the other.

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The daily activities of the majority of people are centered on different kinds of contracts.
This can be exemplified through the purchase of household goods, having a meal at a restaurant
or even boarding a bus to work. All these scenarios create a sense of legal relation which obliges
the individual to give monetary returns in exchange for the services rendered or goods sold 2 . The
occurrence of conflicts that arise through breaching of contracts are numerous and they often
cause irreversible damage to its victims. Law Of Contract Case Study Assignment. This paper is a critical evaluation essay that analyzes a case study and how it relates to contract law. Additionally, the paper will also provide solutions
by applying contract law to solve the disputes.
a) Analysis of the case study
The issues presented in this case have arisen due to the lack of mutual understanding and
dishonesty by some of the individuals. Melissa was a lady who was interested in purchasing a
television set. Hence, she placed an advertisement in the local dailies with the features of her
ideal television. She was able to obtain two responses from potential sellers who proposed to
trade their gadgets. Thomas and Charlie were both willing to sell their televisions to Melissa.
However, Charlie was able to make a better offer before Thomas could show his own item to
Melissa. In fact, the lady in question was able to obtain this item for 550 dollars, which was 50
dollars cheaper than what Thomas was offering for the same. Law Of Contract Case Study Assignment.
However, Melissa felt short-changed because Charlie’s television broke down as soon as
she switched it on. In fact, this electronic device started smoking, flickering and eventually faded
to black within minutes of turning it on. Therefore, Charlie lied to Melissa about the initial status
of the television as he knew that it was already faulty by the time he was selling it. On the other
hand, Thomas decided to use threats to ensure that Melissa bought the television as she had
promised. This means that Melissa was the biggest loser as she was obliged to buy two sets of
the same gadget. To make matters worse, Charlie sold to her an item that was already faulty and
damaged. This means she went at a double loss. However, Melissa would have avoided most of
these issues if she clearly understood the law of contracts. Law Of Contract Case Study Assignment.
b) The law of contract and its connection to the case study
The contract law is a special body of the legal system that primarily deals with binding
agreements between two or more parties. This arm of law pervades and encompasses virtually all aspects of business and personal lives 3 . By definition, contracts are a promise that the
requirements contained in the document will be fulfilled as stipulated. This means that if any
breach occurs, then legal action should be taken upon the law breakers. Contracts normally
comprise of three essential elements, namely the acceptance, consideration and the offer. The
latter is usually communicated to the seller or buyer after which either of them can decide to
accept or terminate this offer. The process of termination can be revoked by either parties or it
can be done so through the court of law 4 .
Alternatively, an individual can also choose to accept the offer and in so doing, a valid
contract must be prepared 5 . It should be noted that a contract can take the form of a written or
oral agreement where both parties consent to the terms contained. A contract that is deemed legal
in the eyes of the law must contain several requirements. One of them is the consideration where
each of the parties that are forming this agreement must promise to provide something that is of
value 6 . The lack of such a provision or exchange means that there is no form of contract. Law Of Contract Case Study Assignment.
c) Discussion of the case study through a problem-solving format by reference to the law of
contract
In this case study, a consideration had been made whereby Melissa, Charlie and Thomas
all agreed to provide something of value to the other party. On Melissa’s side, she gave her
consent on giving a good price if she found someone who was willing to provide a quality
television set. On the side of the other two parties, both Thomas and Charlie insisted that they
would provide the gadget that Melissa was desperately looking for at the time. Hence, at this
stage, the consideration requirement had been met since all the parties fulfilled their obligation
and provided something of value to the other. The second requirement of a contract is the
acceptance and consideration of the offer 7 . The latter is a commitment that is made by one
person to another that assures them that they are interested in a service or commodity. Law Of Contract Case Study Assignment. In order
for an offer to become legal, there must be inclusions of the price, terms of sale and modes of
payment.
In this case, Melissa made an offer in the form of an advertisement that contained very
scanty details. She only stated that she wanted a television set that was in good working
condition and had to be 51cm in length. Hence, she skipped or avoided stating the price she
would pay in case she found the gadget. What’s more, the fact that she stated that she would pay
a good price does not make it very clear on the price range she would be willing to part with at
the end. Hence, this sale agreement was null and void since the advertisement made did not
include everything that would be provided. At the same time, an offer also requires to be
accompanied by terms of thought and acceptance. Once the offer has been made, the interested
party can choose to agree to the terms made 8 . Law Of Contract Case Study Assignment.

3 Adams, Kristen David, and Candace M. Zierdt. "United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International
Sale of Goods."Business Law Today
4 Easley, Dorothy F. "Florida's New Jury Instructions in Contract and Business Law
5 Bayern, Shawn J. "Offer and Acceptance in Modem Contract Law: A Needless Concept." California Law
6 Adams, Kristen David, and Candace M. Zierdt. "United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International
Sale of Goods."Business Law Today
7 Easley, Dorothy F. "Florida's New Jury Instructions in Contract and Business Law
8 Bayern, Shawn J. "Offer and Acceptance in Modem Contract Law: A Needless Concept." California Law

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The process of accepting an offer usually serves as a manifestation of interest to the
conditions provided. The person who controls these terms is the one who makes the initial intent
on procuring a given commodity or service. Hence, the process of accepting an offer must be
accompanied by a verbal or written communication to show that one is interested 9 . Law Of Contract Case Study Assignment. A classic example of an acceptance of an offer would state, “ If Carman makes an offer to Richard, I will sell this consumable goods for 50,000 dollars. In this case, Richard is the only person who has the right to accept this offer.
If the same reasoning is applied to the case study, then Melissa is the only person who is
legally bound by law to accept the terms of the offer. This is because she is the one who made
the initial expression of interest. Law Of Contract Case Study Assignment. Therefore, she should not have been obliged to accept or buy the television owned by Thomas since the law does not make such a provision. Additionally, Melissa
did not make any form of written or verbal agreement that stated she would purchase the gadget
from either Thomas or Charlie. However, the fact that Melissa agreed to purchase Charlie’s
television after having already made an agreement to meet up and see Thomas’ gadget was a
breach of law in some sort. This is because contracts allow parties to make counteroffers if they
find a better deal 10 . Law Of Contract Case Study Assignment.
This means that an individual can reject an initial offer if they find another one that
pleases them even more. Counteroffers refer to a type of offer that is made on the same subject
matter, but it instead makes a better proposal in terms of payment. This means that contract law
is supportive of counter offers such that if the terms of acceptance do not mirror or rhyme with
what one of the parties wants, then they are free to pick on another offer 11 . In this case, Melissa
made an initial expression of interest to Thomas that he was interested in buying his television
set. However, minutes later, Charlie contacted Melissa and made a better offer of selling a
television set and video combined. Law Of Contract Case Study Assignment.
Consequently, the lady in question drove over to Charlie’s house in order to verify this
information. The minute that Melissa bought the items from Charlie, she should have contacted
Thomas to inform him that she found a better deal. This was just to avid Thomas from making
any inconveniences of showing up at her house. However, if the law of contract is used to
analyze this case, it can be said that there was no valid contract that was made 12 . This is because
Melissa did not enter into a verbal or written agreement with either parties. Law Of Contract Case Study Assignment. Instead, she merely made a general advertisement via the dailies that detailed what she wanted. This means that the law cannot prosecute her for failing to purchase Thomas’ television, as no contract had been prepared or signed. At the same time, contract law stipulates that an agreement to an offer should be made through a mutual understanding that eventually leads to a deliberation process 13 .
The latter is what makes a contract to be enforced such that it becomes legal under the
court system. Deliberation also deals with the process of considering an offer and can take the
form of money or a binding assurance to perform. Therefore, the involved parties did not follow
any of these requirements and as such, no legal contract existed. Furthermore, contract law also
9 Benson, Peter. "The Idea Of Consideration." University Of Toronto Law
10 Howard Jenkins, Sarah. "Contract Resurrected! Contract Formation: Common Law
11 Faye Fangfei, Wang. "E-confidence: Offer and acceptance in online contracting." International Review Of Law
12 Howard Jenkins, Sarah. "Contract Resurrected! Contract Formation: Common Law
13 Benson, Peter. "The Idea Of Consideration." University Of Toronto Law requires the parties to give their mutual consent to the terms on offer 14 . This means that the
minds must meet and agree to the agreement and its contents. The fact that Melissa did not sign
any document or make a verbal agreement to Thomas could have enabled her avoid buying his
television set. Law Of Contract Case Study Assignment.
Alternatively, the fact that they did not sign any binding agreement with Charlie means
that she cannot take any legal action on him for selling a faulty item to her. The most suitable
recommendation for this case if for Melissa to understand the facts of contract law so as to avoid
such irreversible damage in future 15 .

Conclusion
The mutual consent between two parties into purchasing or selling a commodity or
service is mainly governed by the law of contracts. The latter is an arm of justice that ensures
two or more parties agree and obey to the terms provided in a legal agreement. Contracts usually
revolve around agreements that are made between individuals or parties where there is a promise
to provide a service or commodity under certain terms. In order for any contract to be considered
valid, there has to be the fulfillment of requirements and guidelines. These include the presence
of an initial offer, acceptance and either verbal or written consent. Law Of Contract Case Study Assignment.
The fact that some of these elements were lacking in this case study means that there was
no valid contract that was made. Therefore, none of the parties involved could take legal action
for being unsatisfied with the outcome. It would be recommended that contract law should be
studied by the three parties to avoid such occurrences in future negotiations. This could go a long
way in ensuring that no more swindling or shady deals are made in the pretext of selling
legitimate products or services.

14 Perlman, Theodore S. L. "Introductory Offers And The Robinson-Patman Act." Harvard Law
15 Yu, Larry. 2009. "Chapter 8: Legal Environment

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Yu, Larry. 2009. "Chapter 8: Legal Environment." In International Hospitality Business:
Management & Operations, 193-214. Law Of Contract Case Study Assignment.