Chapter 6-1
CREATION
OF OFFERS
Contract
Generally defined as
agreements between two
or more parties that create
obligations
What distinguishes a contract from
other agreements
Contracts are enforceable
by courts
Social agreements are not
enforceable by law
6 Major Requirements Before Courts will Treat a
Transaction as a Legally Enforceable Contract:
1.
Offer and Acceptance: there must be an offer and an
acceptance upon which to base the contract


Offeror-the person who make the offer
Offeree- the person to whom the offer is made
2. General Assent: agreement must not be made on one party
deceiving another or the use of unfair pressure
3. Legality: What parties agree to must be legal
4. Consideration: Both sides receive what the law considers value
in some form as a result of the transaction
5. Capacity: Parties must have legal ability to contract for themselves
(age, mental capacity)
6. Writing: Some agreements must be place in writing to be fully
enforceable in court
WHY EACH ESSENTIAL ELEMENT IS
NECESSARY
 Offer and Acceptance: Without them the courts would not have an





agreement that could be enforced
Genuine Assent-Agreements based on deception, improper pressure,
certain types of mistakes is NOT an agreement that society wants to be
involved in enforcing
Legality-Courts should not have to enforce contracts requiring illegal or
tortious conduct
Consideration- Without something of value being exchanged we have
merely an unenforceable promise to make a gift
Capacity- The courts must not have to enforce unfair bargains make to a
lack to ability to contract in the first place
Writing-Some contracts are so important that the courts must have them
in writing to be sure the proper terms are being enforced
(Sales of real property, promises to pay someone's debt obligations, a contract that takes
longer than one year to complete, real property leases that run for more than a year,
contracts for an amount or other consideration that exceeds the state's threshold, a contract
that will go beyond the lifetime of the one performing the contract, the transfer of property
upon the death of the party performing the contract)
REQUIRMENTS OF AN OFFER
 An offer is a proposal by an offeror to do something,
provided the offeree does or refrains from doing
something in return
 The offer is the basis of the bargain. If it is not valid,
there can be no contract for the courts to enforce
 Three Tests That an Offer Must Pass to be
Legally Enforceable:
1.
2.
3.
Contractual intent must be present in the offer
The offer must be communicated to the offeree
The essential terms of the offer must be complete and definite
Contractual Intent
 Words that take the form of offers
but which are spoken in just ( as a
joke, in extreme terror or anger), or
as preliminary negotiations or
social agreement would not be
enforced.
Offers
• Offers must be communicated to the offeree
• The term of an offer must be sufficiently
complete and definite to allow a court to
determine what the parties intend and to
identify the parties legal rights and duties
So What Are the Requirements
of an Offer?
1. CONTRACTUAL INTENT
2. BE COMPLETE AND
DEFINITE
3. BE COMMUNICATED TO
THE OFFEREE BY THE
OFFEROR