Bilateral offer if the terms of an offer indicates

Bilateral offer
 If the terms of an offer indicates that all the “offeror” wants at the
present time from offeree is a return promise, rather than immediate
performance of an act
o Unilateral offer
 Can only be accepted by performance of a particular act
 Promise in exchange for doing an act
 Apparent intent = a offer’s intent that the offer could only be
accepted merely by the offeree’s clear indication of an intent to
accept
o Any brokerage (real estate agency, employment agency)
o Find someone’s dog for $100
 Express Contract
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o If intentions of the parties are stated fully and in explicit terms, either orally or
writing
 Real estate lease, construction contract
 Implied Contracts
o Contacts applied in fact
o The promises/intentions of the parties have to be inferred primarily from their
conduct and from the circumstances in which it occurred
 Getting a haircut and then it is implied that you pay
 Quasi contract
o Exists only in those exceptional circumstances where a court feels compelled to
impose an obligation upon on person regardless of whether he had any
intention of making a contract
 “contracts implied in law”
 Ex: doctor providing first aid to unconscious man and later billing him
without man’s intent to pay for services
o Only imposed in situations where failure to do so would allow one party to
receive “an unjust enrichment”
o Quantum merit = as much as deserved
 Valid Contract
o One which all of the required elements are present, thus enforceable to both
parties
 Voidable contracts
o When one of the parties to a contract has the legal right to withdraw from it at
a later time without liability
 Contracts with fraud fall in this category because the law permits the
defrauded party to set aside the contract
 Ex: minors’ contracts
 Void Contracts
o As far as the law is concerned the contract never existed
 One of the parties is wholly incompetent at time of contracting (insane
people)
 The purpose of the contract is totally illegal (contract to commit a crime)
 Unenforceable Contracts
o Valid at the time it was made but was recently rendered unenforacable because
application of some special rule of law
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 Trying to get money back from someone who declared bankrupt
 Statute of limitations expired
 Death of person giving services
 Statute of fraud
 Statute of Frauds
o Requires certain types of contracts to be in writing in order to be enforceable
 Contracts calling for sale of an interest in land
 Contract that cannot be perform within one year of its making
 Promise by one person to pay debt of another
 Promise made in consideration of marriage (prenup)
 Promise by administrator or executor of estate to pay a debt of the estate
out of his own funds
 Negotiated Contracts
o Contracts negotiated between two parties different from original offer
 Contracts of Adhesion
o Are formed where one party (usually having greatly superior bargaining power
than the other) prepares the terms of a contract and presents it as a “take it or
leave it” basis
