Following the American Psychological Association Style Guide s1

Running head: CONTRACT LAW 1

Contract Law

Following the American Psychological Association Style Guide

Professor CONTRACT LAW 2

Introduction

This essay concerning Contract Law is based on the following scenario. Debbie owned and operated a party supply company called “Partyline.” Debbie had recently expanded her inventory of tables and chairs that she offered for rent, so she placed the following advertisement in the local newspaper on June 1: “Partyline can fill all of your party needs! We have recently expanded our inventory of rental tables and chairs, so we are offering a one month special on rentals for the month of June. We will rent tables and/or chairs for the low price of $1 per table or chair per day! Call 555-RENT for more information.”

Pete saw the advertisement. Since he was planning a garden party in his yard on June 25.

He called 555-RENT on June 3 and spoke with Debbie. In the course of the conversation Pete said, “Your rental prices are very affordable!” “That’s true!” replied Debbie, “we have the best rates in town.” Pete then said, “I am planning a garden party on June 25. I am not sure how many people will be attending, but I think I will need to rent tables and chairs for that day for

100 people.” Debbie replied, “I just need to double-check to make sure we will have enough tables and chairs available, but I am quite sure we can provide you with tables and chairs for

100 guests.” “No problem,” said Pete, “you can let me know sometime within the next two weeks.” Between June 3 and 6 Debbie received a large number of bookings to rent tables and chairs. She came to the conclusion that she would be unable to agree to any additional rentals for the month of June. On June 7 Debbie took out a second advertisement in the local newspaper which stated the following: “Partyline is no longer able to honor its June rental special. Please contact us for your July party needs.” CONTRACT LAW 3

On June 12 Pete called Debbie and told her that he was counting on the table and chair rentals for his garden party. “Didn’t you see the June 7 ad?” said Debbie. “What ad?” replied

When Debbie described the June 7 ad Pete replied, “That is unacceptable! I have 100 guests coming on June 25 and I need a place for them to sit and eat their lunch! ” Debbie apologized but said she would be unable to provide Pete with the table and chair rentals. Does

Pete have an enforceable contract with Debbie?

First, I will discuss the nature of enforceable contracts and it will become apparent whether or not Pete does or does not have an enforceable contract with Debbie. Finally, I will conclude by clearly stating the outcome of this scenario in terms of the primary question: “Does

Pete have an enforceable contract with Debbie?”

Enforceable Contracts

According to Steinberger (February 28, 2007) he states the definition of an enforceable contract in the following quote below:

A contract is basically an agreement to do or not to do something. Saying a

contract is valid means it's legally binding and enforceable. The point of a

contract is to clearly outline an agreement so the "object" is accomplished while

preventing disputes or litigation. Any lawyer will tell you that a lawsuit is a very

inefficient and expensive way to resolve contract disputes, and it also means you

lose control over the issue being disputed since a judge or jury will be making the

decisions instead (Steinberger, February 28, 2007). CONTRACT LAW 4

If we carefully analyze the above statement, the key word involved with enforceable contracts is the key word of “object” (Steinberger, February 28, 2007). To reiterate the verbal agreement between Pete and Debbie, I will again revisit the given scenario below that is also above:

Pete saw the advertisement. Since he was planning a garden party in his yard on

June 25. He called 555-RENT on June 3 and spoke with Debbie. In the course of

the conversation Pete said, “Your rental prices are very affordable!” “That’s

true!” replied Debbie, “we have the best rates in town.” Pete then said, “I am

planning a garden party on June 25. I am not sure how many people will be

attending, but I think I will need to rent tables and chairs for that day for

100 people.” Debbie replied, “I just need to double-check to make sure we will

have enough tables and chairs available, but I am quite sure we can provide you

with tables and chairs for 100 guests.” “No problem,” said Pete, “you can let me

know sometime within the next two weeks.”

By revisiting and analyzing the conversation that took place between Pete and Debbie, Pete was not sure how many guests would be coming to his garden party. Debbie also did not make any verbal promise that she would have enough tables and chairs to supply to Pete.

I am just going to take a moment to discuss verbally enforceable contracts. I will utilize the knowledge of Rabiner (October 18, 2011) to discuss this issue surrounding the enforceability of oral and/or verbal contracts:

Despite popular belief, oral contracts are enforceable. They usually are not in

your best interests, and end in a "he said, she said" battle. But as long as there is

enough evidence, a court will enforce an oral agreement (Rabiner, October 18,

2011). CONTRACT LAW 5

However, to revisit the situation between Pete and Debbie, there were no clear “terms of agreement” which is a popular expression in order to “define” (latter my usage) the terms of the oral and/or verbal agreement that Pete could have sued Debbie for.

Conclusion/Analysis

In answer to the question, “does Pete have an enforceable contract with Debbie?,” … no

– Pete does not. CONTRACT LAW 6

References

Rabiner, Esq., S. (October 18, 2011). “Are Oral Contracts Enforceable,” FindLaw. New York,

New York: Thomson Reuters Business. Retrieved from:

http://blogs.findlaw.com/law_and_life/2011/10/are-oral-contracts-enforceable.html

Steinberger, J. (February 28, 2007). “Is This Contract Valid?”, Entrepreneur.com. New

York, New York: Entrepreneur.com. Retrieved from:

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/175238