For BMWMD: 10-15 PowerPoint slides with 150–200 words of speaker notes each and 2
short contract samples Details: Mr. Smith has requested that you research contract law and
create a presentation that can be used to educate clients and those new to the firm. You
should address the following in your presentation: •Explain contract law concisely and
simply. •Display an example of a written contract that you have mocked up. It could be a
purchase agreement for a home, car, or furniture; a warranty agreement; or a contract for
home repairs. Identify the features that make it a valid contract. •Write a short contract in
Word to provide a service to someone. You may request monetary reimbursement or
something else of equal value from the other party. Make certain that your work satisfies
the basic requirements of a contract. For full credit, you must address the following in your
slides and short contract: •Explain the basics of contract law. •Explain contract law in a
simple and concise manner. •Incorporate the terms offer, acceptance, and consideration.
•Include an example of a written contract that you mocked up, and identify the features
that make it a valid contract. •Include a short contract to provide a service to someone, and
identify the features that make it a valid contract. •Make sure that the examples given
satisfy the basic requirements for a contract. •The entire deliverable must consist of 10-15
PowerPoint slides with 150–200 words of speaker notes and 2 short contract samples in
Word. this is in APA format and I need it by Friday. Could you help?
A contract is used to formalize an agreement between two or more parties, in relation to a
particular subject. Contracts can cover an extremely broad range of matters, including the
sale of goods or tangible property, the terms of employment, or of an independent
contractor relationship, the settlement of a dispute, and ownership of intellectual property
developed as part of a work for hire. Furthermore, a contract is a legally enforceable
agreement between these parties with mutual obligations. The remedy at law for breach of
contract is "damages" or monetary compensation. In equity, the remedy can be specific
performance of the contract or an injunction. Both remedies award the damaged party the
"benefit of the bargain" or expectation damages, which are greater than mere reliance
damages, as in promissory estoppel, or precluding "a person from denying or asserting
anything to the contrary of that which has, in contemplation of law, been established as the
truth, either by the acts of judicial or legislative officers, or by his own deed, acts, or
representations, either express or implied.
Contract law is based on the principle expressed in the Latin phrase pacta sunt servanda,
which is usually translated "agreements to be kept" but more literally means, "pacts must
be kept" (Webberg, 1959). Contract law can be classified, as is habitual in civil law systems,
as part of a general law of obligations, along with tort, unjust enrichment, and restitution.
As a means of economic ordering, contract relies on the notion of consensual exchange and
has been extensively discussed in broader economic, sociological, and anthropological
terms (see "Contractual theory" below). In American English, the term extends beyond the
legal meaning to encompass a broader category of agreements. This article mainly
concerns the common law. Such jurisdictions usually retain a high degree of freedom of
contract, with parties largely at liberty to set their own terms. This is in contrast to the civil
law, which typically applies certain overarching principles to disputes arising out of
contract, as in the French Civil Code. However, contract is a form of economic ordering
common throughout the world, and different rules apply in jurisdictions applying civil law
(derived from Roman law principles), Islamic law, socialist legal systems, and customary or
local law.
At common law, mutual assent is typically reached through offer and acceptance, that is,
when an offer is met with an acceptance that is unqualified and that does not change or
alter the offer's terms. The latter requirement is known as the "mirror image" rule. If a
purported acceptance does vary the terms of an offer, it is not an acceptance but a
counteroffer and, therefore, simultaneously a rejection of the original offer. The most
important feature of a contract is that one party makes an offer for an arrangement that
another accepts. There must be evidence that the parties had each from an objective
perspective engaged in conduct that showed their assent, and a contract will be formed
when the parties have met such a requirement (Steyn, 1997). Furthermore, the acceptance
does not necessarily need to be in writing. In regards to consideration, that only means that
something of value was offered for another something of value.
In order to create a contract, a party must have capacity to contract; the purpose of the
contract must be lawful; the form of the contract must be legal; the parties must intend to
create a legal relationship; and the parties must consent. As one may imagine, there a
number of ways a person may lawfully attempt to forgo their obligation. For example,
either party may claim mistake; incapacity, including mental incompetence and
infancy/minority; duress; undue influence; unconscionability; misrepresentation/fraud;
and frustration of purpose. These issues operate to determine whether a purported
contract is either (1) void or (2) voidable. Either party cannot ratify void contracts.
Voidable contracts can be ratified. Fortunately, in the United States people are free to
choose which contracts they would like to enter in to. In addition, for some contracts
formalities must be complied with under legislation sometimes called a statute of frauds
(especially transactions in property or for a large sum of money).
There are several examples of commercial issues that may come in to play here. Where a
product in large quantities is advertised in a newspaper or on a poster, it generally is not
considered an offer but instead will be regarded as an invitation to treat, since there is no
guarantee that the store can provide the item for everyone who might want one. Several
famous cases have been brought considering offers that were made by radio or television
that suggested that if a person were to complete a series of seemingly impossible tasks or
even collect an improbable sum of money, etc., they would be given an item of exceptional
value. Unfortunately, this is usually not the case, as in the story of a Harrier jet being
offered as part of a giveaway. Pepsi ran a promotional campaign in which consumers could
earn and collect points for each purchase of a Pepsi product. The company ran TV ads to
promote the give-away, and in one of those ads, it show a kid flying a Harrier jet to school,
followed by the graphic Harrier Jet=7,000,000 Pepsi Points. Actually, you didn't have to
"collect" all those points. If you read the rules, they stated that Pepsi Points could also be
acquired for 10 cents each. One person sent 15 Pepsi Points, an order for one Harrier Jet,
and a check for $6,999,985 to PepsiCo. This gentleman never got his plane.
Contracts may be bilateral or unilateral. A bilateral contract is the kind of contract that
most people think of when they think "contract" and indeed represents the vast majority of
contracts. It is an agreement in which each of the parties to the contract makes a promise
or set of promises to the other party or parties. For example, in a contract for the sale of a
home, the buyer promises to pay the seller $200,000 in exchange for the seller's promise to
deliver the actual house. In a unilateral contract, only one party to the contract makes a
promise. A typical example is the reward contract: when a person promises to pay a
reward if another finds their lost dog. The person finding the dog is under no obligation to
find the dog, but if the dog is found, the person making the offer is obligated to pay the
reward.
A contractual term is "[a]ny provision forming part of a contract". Each term leads to a
contractual obligation, breach of which can lead to litigation. Not all terms are stated
expressly and some terms carry less legal weight as they are peripheral to the objectives of
the contract (Martin, 2006). Boilerplate means certain terms that are added to the end of
any contract that work across the board. While many people think of these words as just
tacked on words, they actually have significant implications for legal terms of a given
contract. Status as a term is important as a party can only take legal action for not meeting
their end of the contract. Legally speaking, only statements that amount to a term create
contractual obligations. Specifically, the importance apparently placed on the statement by
the parties at the time the contract is made is likely to be of value.
Misrepresentation refers to a statement that one party makes to another that is not the
truth. For example, under certain circumstances, false statements or promises made by a
seller of goods regarding the quality or nature of the product that the seller has may
constitute misrepresentation. There are two types of misrepresentation in contract law,
fraud in the factum and fraud in inducement. Fraud in the factum focuses on whether the
party in question knew they were creating a contract. If the party did not know that they
were entering into a contract, there is no meeting of the minds, and the contract is void.
Fraud in inducement focuses on misrepresentation attempting to get the party to enter into
the contract. Furthermore, if the party knew the truth, that party would not have entered
into the contract) makes a contract voidable. This fact may lead to the induction of an
injunction.
Entering in to a contract is a complicated legal issue that requires a number of
considerations before preparing a new document. For example, there are usually two or
more parties that come to terms when agreeing on a contract. Each of these parties must be
willing and able to enter in to the contract, or the contract will be void and unenforceable.
Furthermore, what is being settled upon must be legal. If one or more parties wishes to
back out of the contract, there are requirements for that as well, including claiming that
they were forced in to the contract or that they did not understand it. Preparing a contract
may be easy or complicated, and should include several important words. Some of these
words are seen on almost all contracts, and are known as boilerplate. Even if these are seen
as extras, they should be paid attention to. Lastly, each party entering in to the contract
needs to be honest and factual as fraud can lead to the canceling of a contract or it
becoming null and void.
References
Martin, E [ed] & Law, J [ed]. (2006) Oxford Dictionary of Law, ed6 (2006,
London:OUP).
Steyn, L. (1997) 'Contract Law: Fulfilling the Reasonable Expectations of Honest
Men' 113 LQR 433; c.f. § 133 BGB in Germany, where "the actual will of the contracting
party, not the literal sense of words, is to be determined"
Wehberg, H. (1959), Pacta Sunt Servanda, The American Journal of International
Law, Vol. 53, No. 4 p.775.; Trans-Lex.org Principle of Sanctity of contracts.