What is a contract?
A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two parties. Each party to a contract makes a promise to either perform a certain duty or pay a certain amount. If one party fails to act as promised, and the other party has fulfilled the duties under the contract, the other party is entitled to legal relief.
A contract is a promise between two or more persons involving the exchange ofsome good or service. Some of the basic elements of a contract include: an offer and an acceptance; “capacity,” or being of legal age and sound competence; “mutual assent,” or agreement on the terms of a contract; and “consideration,” or compensation for goods or services rendered. The element that distinguishes a contract from an informal agreements is that it is legally binding:the law provides a remedy in the event that the promise is not fulfilled. Bylaw, certain types of contracts must be in writing, but oral contracts are valid in many situations. An oral contract may be held to exist even in the absence of agreement as to all its terms. Sources of Contract Law: The Statute of Frauds The Statute of Frauds was enacted in England in 1677, and it has been adoptedin one form or another by all 50 states. In order to prevent fraud on the part of either party in the exchange of goods, the statute requires a wri
top A contract is an agreement that the law will enforce. That is all. There is no magic to it. Some agreements the law will not enforce. For example, an agreement to sell another person into slavery, an agreement to marry or other agreements that for public policy reasons are not things that we as a society choose to enforce. Generally, the law of contract involves commercial transactions where money or goods are changing hands. The law looks for two things: Offer & Acceptance Consideration Offer and Acceptance top The question of offer and acceptance determines whether the parties to a contract were ever “of one mind” as to the terms of the contract (the lawyers Latin term is ad idem). There must be a moment when one party makes an offer and the other says, “Yes.” Not, “Yes, but” Just a plain, simple, clear, unequivocal “Yes.” Anything else is a refusal or a counter offer. Few of us ever really nail down every single term of our agreements and the law will read in some terms but dont
A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties. The core of most contracts is a set of mutual promises (in legal terminology, “consideration”). The promises made by the parties define the rights and obligations of the parties. Contracts are enforceable in the courts. If one party meets its contractual obligations and the other party doesn’t (“breaches the contract”), the nonbreaching party is entitled to receive relief through the courts.
