Contract Law Definition Research Essay

A voluntary agreement between two or more people that must be enforceable and legally binding is referred to as a contract. The rule of obligations governs it. The parties must be willingly and freely consenting individuals with the legal ability to enter into a contract. Every company deals with contracts on a daily basis when conducting sales and purchases of goods and services. A breach of contract occurs when one party violates the terms of an agreement; this can be the foundation for legal action. (Appleman & Holmes, 2016). This paper will discuss the case between Camille and Sonya and analyze the application of contract law in the scenario.

One of the basic principles of a contract is offer. It is an expression of willingness to be bound by the contract. A valid offer includes the date of delivery, the price, terms of payment, and description of the item. In this case, Sonya is the offeree while Camille is the offeror. The two parties agreed on the delivery date, description, and the price. However, the terms of contract were not discussed as Sonya received a phone call before discussing it. Sonya expressed her agreement to the offer by saying that she would start right away even before receiving the 25% down payment (Ayres, 2012). “A person can withdraw the offer before it is accepted. For the withdrawal to be effective, he or she must communicate to the other party that the offer has been withdrawn” (Ayres, 2012).

Another basic principle of a contract is acceptance. It is the expression of assent to the terms of the contract. In this case, the offer was made orally, and the offeree made the acceptance orally before the offeror left. The offeror received the acceptance before the contract was made effective. Therefore, the principle of acceptance was fulfilled in this scenario. For acceptance to be valid, communication is essential. Camille, who is the offeror, received the acceptance of Sonya before making the contract effective (Ayres, 2012). The terms of the acceptance must match the terms of the offer and the agreement must be certain. All the conditions are fulfilled under this contract.

Consideration is the other basic principle of a contract. It is something of value that is promised in exchange for the specified action in the contract. It is usually the main reason why people enter into contracts. The first consideration in this case is the 25% down payment which Camille did not pay, hence, Sonya had to use her own money to purchase the materials for the sweaters and hats (Appleman & Holmes, 2016). The other consideration is $100 for each of the 500 goods sewn. Camille did not oblige to the consideration.

Prior to the case, Camille had a good networking relationship with seamstresses. Hence, when she approached Sonya, it was easy to come to an agreement due to the trust she has created in the industry. However, during their dealing, there was a miscommunication. Additionally, Camille did not pay the down payment making Sonya incur all the cost (Appleman & Holmes, 2016). Changing her mind after the sweaters and hats were already sewn and refusing to pay is a breach of contract by Camille.

Should CARDWARE Inc. file a breach of contract lawsuit against Sonya? A lot would have to be considered in regard to both parties. First, considering if the contract was formed using the basic contract principles, Camille, who is under CARDWARE Inc., did not perform her obligation of paying the consideration to Sonya. This exposed Sonya to liability making her have the right to sue for damages (Ayres, 2012). According to the law, Camille was expected to state her inability to meet the contract conditions before it was enforced. Sonya expects to recover full expectations damages from their agreement. Sonya did not foresee the breach and, hence, she met her obligation on time. Therefore, Sonya would be successful in case a breach of contract lawsuit by CARDWARE Inc. is brought against her.

References

Appleman, J. A., Appleman, J., & Holmes, E. M. (2016). Contract Concerns: Reinsurance Contract Formation, Validity, and Judicial Construction (Vol. 14). Appleman on Insurance Law and Practice.

Ayres, I., & Ayres, I. (2012). Studies in Contract Law. Foundation Press.