What Is a Valid Acceptance in Contract Law

· “The parties had previously agreed that silence would be an acceptance” Bilateral agreementsThe type of acceptance required to conclude an agreement depends on the offer. As mentioned earlier, an offer that exchanges a promise for a promise is a bilateral treaty. The general rule is that any offer that requires acceptance by a promise can only be accepted by a promise. See White v. Corlies, 46 N.Y. 467 (1871). For example, the Court of Appeal concluded that the letter with the words “for immediate acceptance” was solid evidence of an offer – rather than a price offer – that would create a binding contract if accepted. The seller is therefore responsible for breaches of contract, since the buyer had accepted the offer by asking for the ten Mason jars. [19] As a general rule, price offers or price lists alone are not sufficient to justify offers. [14] On the contrary, a legally enforceable contract is not entered into until an order is issued “in accordance with the proposed terms.” [15] Therefore, the order is considered an offer.

Most cases indicate that the transaction is not complete until the order is accepted. [16] So, for example, if you see a price on an ecommerce site, that list isn`t an offer yet. When you order the product, you make an offer that the merchant can accept or reject (for example. B if the product is out of stock or if the price has increased). When the merchant confirms your order, it is an acceptance and creates a binding agreement. And if the offer does not prescribe a prescribed type of acceptance or time limit, the acceptance of the offer must be made in a reasonable manner and within a reasonable time. The technical details of contracts can be complicated and lead to unintended legal consequences. Assuming that there is an offer and the recipient`s accepting authority is still available, the next question is whether the offer was correctly accepted or not. To understand the concept of acceptance, we need to familiarize ourselves with the basic legal rules regarding valid acceptance and the essential elements of acceptance in contract law. Please note that even if an offer of a bilateral agreement must be accepted with a promise, the promise itself does not need to be verbal. For example, when Picasso promises Michelangelo $500, when Michelangelo promises to paint Picasso`s house, and Michelangelo nods “yes” with his head, his action is considered a valid hypothesis.

Express acceptance is an acceptance of the offer, which is made in writing or verbally. In this type of acceptance, the target recipient must provide the supplier with a duly signed document in writing or orally, such as acceptance by telephone call or video call. The plaintiff filed a lawsuit to enforce the original agreement, arguing that a contract was formed when the defendants signed it. The State Supreme Court disagreed, holding that no contract had been concluded on the grounds that the defendants did not respect the mirror image rule. They had made substantial changes to the original offer, and the applicant never accepted them. · The second is revocation. A revocation occurs when the bidder expresses its intention not to enter into the proposed contract. [26] Supplier retains control of the Offer at all times prior to its acceptance. This includes the right to modify or terminate the offer. The general rule is that a contract invites acceptance in one way or another and by all means reasonable in the circumstances, unless the language and circumstances clearly indicate otherwise.

[32] Therefore, the courts will consider whether there is language that regulates the type of adoption. Without any particular language, any reasonable method constitutes acceptance. Electronic communication has, of course, become more and more common. Many contracts are negotiated by email, accepted electronically and “signed”. In general, this does not change the rules. The Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA)A U.S. law that makes electronic contracts generally valid and contracts enforceable. was promulgated in 1999 (i.e. distributed for adoption by States).

It is one of many uniform acts, such as the Uniform Commercial Code. As of June 2010, forty-seven states and the U.S. Virgin Islands had passed the law. The introduction of the law states that “UETA aims to remove barriers to electronic commerce through the validation and execution of electronic records and signatures.” The National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (1999) (Denver: National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, 1999), accessed March 29, 2011, www.law.upenn.edu/bll/archives/ulc/fnact99/1990s/ueta99.pdf. In general, UETA provides the following: And mere acceptance without any communication with the supplier does not constitute a valid contract. Acceptance can only be made by the party to whom the offer is addressed. No other person can give this assumption to offer to whom it is not made. If the provider does not specify a specific mode, acceptance is effective when transmitted as long as the provider uses an appropriate acceptance procedure. It is implied that the target recipient may use the same means as the supplier, or a means of communication common to the industry. Marissa and David are looking for venues for their next wedding.

Sam offers them a place for the date they want to get married. Although they love it, they are not yet ready to sign the agreement to book the place. Sam agrees in writing to allow Marissa and David to decide by next Monday if they want to keep the venue for that specified date. Marissa and David pay Sam two hundred dollars in exchange for the right to decide by next Monday. This is an option contract. Under an option agreement, Marissa and David can accept or reject the offer until next Monday. After this period, the option contract expires and the offer becomes revocable. [31] When the offer to enter into a contract is submitted, the bidder`s acceptance must be communicated to the bidder in order to establish a valid contract. Without compliance with the conditions prescribed by the supplier, no valid contract is concluded.

As a general rule, the acceptance of an offer must be communicated to the supplier. In other words, if the target recipient intends to accept the tender, it must inform the tenderer. However, there are situations where the supplier expressly waives the request for communication so that the target recipient can accept an offer without informing the supplier of the acceptance. .