6-2
Termination of Offers
Once made an offer does not last forever. It may be terminated in number of ways
HOW CAN OFFERS BE ENDED?
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REVOCATION BY THE OFFEROR
TIME STATED IN THE OFFER
REASONABLE LENGTH OF TIME
REJECTION BY THE OFFEREE
COUNTEROFFER
DEATH OR INSANITY OF EITHER THE
OFFEROR OR OFFEREE
DESTRUCTION OF THE SPECIFIC
SUBJECT MATTER
1. Revocation by the Offeror: After an offer has been made, the offeror can
generally revoke it anytime before it is accepted by the offeree even if it
was promised that the offer would remain open for a particular period.
Revocation: The right to withdraw an offer before it is accepted
2. Time Stated in the Offer: In making an offer, the offeror may stat how
and when the offer must be accepted.
3. Reasonable Length of Time: When nothing is said in the offer about how
long it will remain open, it will end after a reasonable length of time
4. Rejection by the Offeree: When an offeree clearly rejects the offer, the
offer is terminated
5. Counteroffer: Generally an offeree accepting an offer must accept it as
made but if the offeree changes the offeror’s terms and sends it back to
the offeror, a COUNTEROFFER results
6. Death or Insanity of Either the Offeror or Offeree: Contracts are
agreements voluntarily entered into by the parties and subject to their
control. Death or insanity eliminates such control
7. Destruction of the Specific Subject Matter: If the offer refers to
unique subject matter and is subsequently destroyed the offer is
automatically terminated
How Can an Offer be Kept
Open?
AN OFFEROR IS NOT LEGALLY OBLIGATED TO KEEP AN
OFFER OPEN FOR A SPECIFIED TIME EVEN IF THE
OFFEOR HAS PROMISED TO DO SO
Options: if the offeree gives the offeror something of value
in return for a promise to keep the offer open this
agreement is itself a binding contract (option)
2. Firm Offers: A contractual proposal in writing by a
merchant stating how long the offer is to stay open
1.
6-3
Acceptances
Acceptance occurs when a party to whom an offer has
been made agrees to the proposal
• KATIE MAKES AN OFFER TO KERRY
BUT KERRY IS NOT INTERESTED.
KERRY’S FRIEND, WHO WAS
STANDING NEARBY HEARS THE OFFER
AND SAYS SHE ACCEPTS.
Has a contract been made?
An offer can only e accepted by the person(s) to who it has bee made.
WHAT IS RQUIRED OF AN
ACCEPTANCE?
1. ACCEPTANCE MUST BE MADE ONLY BY THE PERSON(S) TO
WHOM THE OFFER WAS MADE
2. THE ACCEPTANCE MUST MATCH THE TERMS IN THE
OFFER
3. THE ACCEPTANCE MUST BE COMMUNICATE TO THE
OFFEROR
A DIFFERENT RULE APPLIES TO APPEARANCES FOR OFFERS
FOR SERVICES AND REALTY THAN FOR OFFERS OF GOODS.
Mirror Image Rule
REQUIRES THAT THE ACCEPTANCE MUST
EXACTLY MATCH THE TERMS CONTAINED IN
THE OFFER
Acceptance Must Be Communicated to
the Offeror
An acceptance must be more than a mental decision. It
must be communicated to the offeror
SILENCE AS ACCEPTANCE -NOT OBLIGATED TO REPLY TO
OFFERS MADE BY OTHERS- an offeror’s attempt to word the
offer so that silence would appear to be an acceptance will not
work.
2. BITLATERAL ACCEPTANCE -MOST OFFERS ARE BILATERALmeaning the offer implies that it can be accepted by giving a
promise instead of performing the contracted for act. ( a seller
promises to deliver oil in exchange for the homeowner paying
$3.70 a gallon)REQUIREMNTS: the offeree accept by
communicating the requires promise to the offer. Until this is
done there is no contract
3. Unilateral Acceptance – THE OFFEROR REQUIRES THAT THE
OFFEREE INDICATE ACCEPTANCE BY PERFORMING HIS OR HER
OBLIAGATION UNDER THE CONTRACT- the offeror in a unilateral
contract promise something in return for the offereee’s
performance and indicates that this performance is the way
acceptance is to be made. (A reward is promised to anyone who
returns a lost dog- Many people may look for the dog since but
the promise to look is not a contract- only the one who returns
the dog can earn the reward.
1.
Solution 1
No, Cheya is just
determining how much
the calculator is worth
Solution 2
Neither Duane nor the representative
specified which fifty of the animals
would be sold. The animals could be
of different weights and therefore of
different market values. No contract
is made when an essential term is
missing.