Contract Case

A contract is a legal document that is formed after an agreement between two or more parties has been made. Contracts are conducted in many ways but as long as six elements: offer, acceptance, consideration, capacity, mutual agreement and legality are present the contract is legally binding (Safrath, 2011).

Before entering a contract it is important that both parties be of legal age, of a sound mind and be able to understand before consenting to the terms of the contract. This is known as capacity, in it a party must be at least 18 years of age to enter into a contract because a contract has no validity if signed by a minor. Additionally the parties should be mentally capable in order to comprehend the conditions of the contract that they are entering. If by any chance the individual isn't capable of this they would have the right to withdraw their acceptance and the contract would be null and void. A person under the influence of alcohol and/ or drugs could yield the same results if the other party willingly knew this persons' impairment affected their ability to understand and consent to the contract (Safrath, 2011). Through legality a contract isn't enforceable unless it is legal; meaning if entering into a contract has the potential to put you in jail it isn't valid. A contract involving the purchase of a stolen item or illegal drug, fraud or causing harm to someone would be considered invalid (A, n.d.).

A contract begins with an offer from one party to another that entails the details of a possible arrangement. An offer is simply a statement or other indication that the individual is prepared to enter into a contract with another on certain terms (Essentials, n.d.). These terms must be clearly defined such as the identity and purpose of an intended object, and what the stipulations are to what is being offered (Gordon, 2010). Which means if you are offering to sell t-shirts; it would be beneficial to include the quantity, price and delivery date of these items (Safrath, 2011). Before further steps can be taken, parties have to partake in a meeting of the mind and determine a mutual agreement of the conditions of the contract. Each party has to agree on entering the contract at their own will and not by false pretenses and agree to some extent to the conditions of the contract (Gordon, 2010). If I entered a contract with James for the sale of a Nissan Altima as is, myself and James would both have to agree that the contract is for the sale and condition of that particular Nissan Altima.

Once these conditions are agreed upon, the other party can take said terms into consideration and decide whether they will accept the offer. Consideration takes place when each party benefits from an exchange done between the two parties. The exchange isn't limited to money; it could include property, services or anything of value as long as it holds up in court (Safrath, 2012). So if I told a coworker I would give them a ride to work it would be considered a promise but if I agree to give my coworker a ride to work in an exchange for gas money; consideration would take place. Acceptance is what seals the deal and it occurs when the party receiving the offer from the other is acknowledged. The acceptance must be definite and free of additional circumstances. Once accepted there is no turning back, you can't renege, alter or modify what you have accepted (Gordon, 2010).

I want to bring attention to a case I researched that involved some or all of the elements. Everyone knows the Kardashians; Kim, Kourtney, Khloe and