Legal Essay #3

Chapter 10: A valid offer creates a power in the offeree to create a contract by agreeing to its terms. The law determines whether a person intended to make an offer by looking objectively at all of the facts and circumstances in which it is made. The law of offer and acceptance is premised on the common law concept of “meeting of the minds,” in which an offeree understands and accepts an offer on the same terms as the offeror. Vagueness or ambiguity in an offer or acceptance guarantees problems and may lead to litigation. The executive or consumer, who articulates to herself precisely what she wants, and then bargains clearly for it, is likely to spend more time doing business and less time in court.

Chapter 11: The law does not hold us accountable for every promise we make. The doctrine of consideration determines which promises a court must enforce.

Chapter 12: No matter how profitable a particular contract may appear to be, it is worthless if it is illegal. For example, a noncompete or exculpatory clause that is too onesided may lead a court to ignore the clause. Similarly, an illegal contract is unenforceable. Make sure your agreement is lawful.

Chapter 13: Both parties must have the capacity to make a deal, and both must give genuine consent.

This week’s discussion topics are:

• “Essay Questions” #4 on page 254 OR
• “Essay Questions” #5 from page 273-274 OR
• “Essay Questions” #3 on page 293 OR
• “Essay Questions” #1 from page 314

Please post your answers of the Essay Questions in this forum first, then read and debate two other classmates’ postings. Your essay format needs to be the same format as 1-6a Analyzing a Case example shown on textbook page 13 with “Facts, Issue, Decision, Reasoning”. Your responses to your classmates’ postings should follow the guidance of “Devil’s Advocate” on textbook page 15.

The grading criteria of your essay is shown below:

Facts: 0 point ( You simply copy and paste the facts provided by the essay questions from the textbook)

Issue: 1 point ( Your capability of identify ALL the legal issues presented by the case)

Decision: 1 point (serving as a judge, you need to issue a court decision when all issues are decided)

Reasoning: 4 points ( This is the most important part of the essay. You need to refer to the definition of the law and interprete it to support the decisions above. )

Debates of two of your classmates’ postings: 2 points (Offer a contrasting view of the legal issue and challenge your classmates’ decisions.)