CASE STUDY

Case Study

Case Study

Case Study 1

a) Bilateral contracts are those contracts in which two parties agree to perform a certain task. This is mainly done in business in which one party agrees to pay a price for a certain good or service and the other party promises to deliver the goods or service. Unilateral contracts involve an offeror who makes a promise in exchange for a certain act. The offer may or may not be accepted by the offeree and he cannot be forced to accept the contract (Beale, 2010). In the case of Thornton v. Shoe Lane Parking the contract was a bilateral contract because Thornton decided to use the services of Shoe Lane Parking; similarly, Shoe Lane Parking accepted the contract as soon as the ticket was issued. Hence, this is a bilateral contact.

An expressed contract is one in which a party expresses his willingness to make a promise if the offeree accepts the offer in words. On the other hand, implied contracts are expressed by one party with the understanding that the other would fulfil the terms of the contract. This contract is expressed by mutual understanding and not expressed in words. For example in the case of Oscar Chess Ltd v. Williams, the contract was considered implied because of the fact that an experienced car dealer and an inexperienced seller was involved. Although the sellar provided wrong information, the case went in favour of him.

Void contract cannot be enforced by law because they are not valid contracts. Similarly, voidable contracts are initially valid but can be made void by any of the two parties to the contract (Collins, 1994).

b) Joseph places an antique vase on the window of his shop and displays its price. Benedict happens to see it but since he does not have time to purchase it, he writes Joseph a letter letting him know that he wishes to purchase the vase at for $500 as displayed. Before the letter reaches Joseph, another potential customer, Kevin, the offeror, tries to bargain on the price of the vase but leaves without purchasing it because Joseph, the offeree, did not accept the offer. He later decided to purchase it and writes a letter to Joseph asking him to sell the vase to him for $450 as Joseph was demanding this amount. Later that day, Daniela visits the shop and promises to return with the money to purchase the vase for $400 as Joseph had demanded from her. Joseph agrees on the deal with Daniela. However, before Daniela could arrive with the money, Joseph receives the letters from Benedict and Kevin. These two letters can be considered counter offers because they were received after the initial offer was made. Considering the fact that three people are willing to purchase the vase at different prices. There is a legal issue as to whom Joseph should sell the vase to as all three customers have expressed their desire to purchase the vase. The legal principles of bilateral, unilateral, expressed, implied, ...