business law case study
This essay will discuss the Case study by firstly identifying four elements of contract, then justifying duties of Mr. Martin with applying the principles of pre-existing contractual duties. Finally a discussion about part payment of debt and promissory estoppel will be explained. Likewise, this essay will evaluate the knowledge of common law and agency relationship.
QUESTION 1
a) Four essential elements of a contract should be Offer, Acceptance, Intention to create legal relations and Consideration. Firstly, offer, according to Adams(2012), is a full and clear statement of the terms”(p79) send to a party(the offeree) by another party(the offeror). Otherwise there could be a misunderstanding of an invitation to treat or negotiation which are similar statements. If an offer intends to be legally binding, acceptance, by which the offerees can show their agreement of all the terms of the offer, is needed. Acceptance needs to be valid and informing the offeror, while the terms should as same as the previous ones. Another element, i.e. consideration, aims to make sure the promise made is of value. As defined by Jones (2011), the consideration needs to give benefits to the one, who is suffering a loss at the same time. Last but not least, while making an agreement to be legally enforceable, intention to create legal relations is important. While judging whether it is a binding contract or not, the situation to make this contract needs to be considered, in other words, according to Adams(2012), contract made in a domestic or social environment will not be legally bound. Otherwise, if parties are willing to do a commercial agreement, it will be regard as legally bound(Jones, 2011).
b) Mr. Martin need to pay the £750 due to two reasons, based on three cases existed as judicial precedents, which are Stilk v Myrick(1809), Hartley v Ponsonby(1857) and Williams v Roffey bros(1990)One perspective is that there is an additional value within the new contract, though Mr.
QUESTION 1
a) Four essential elements of a contract should be Offer, Acceptance, Intention to create legal relations and Consideration. Firstly, offer, according to Adams(2012), is a full and clear statement of the terms”(p79) send to a party(the offeree) by another party(the offeror). Otherwise there could be a misunderstanding of an invitation to treat or negotiation which are similar statements. If an offer intends to be legally binding, acceptance, by which the offerees can show their agreement of all the terms of the offer, is needed. Acceptance needs to be valid and informing the offeror, while the terms should as same as the previous ones. Another element, i.e. consideration, aims to make sure the promise made is of value. As defined by Jones (2011), the consideration needs to give benefits to the one, who is suffering a loss at the same time. Last but not least, while making an agreement to be legally enforceable, intention to create legal relations is important. While judging whether it is a binding contract or not, the situation to make this contract needs to be considered, in other words, according to Adams(2012), contract made in a domestic or social environment will not be legally bound. Otherwise, if parties are willing to do a commercial agreement, it will be regard as legally bound(Jones, 2011).
b) Mr. Martin need to pay the £750 due to two reasons, based on three cases existed as judicial precedents, which are Stilk v Myrick(1809), Hartley v Ponsonby(1857) and Williams v Roffey bros(1990)One perspective is that there is an additional value within the new contract, though Mr.
Bibliography: Adams, A (2012), Law for business students(7th ed), London: Pearson Education Limited. Public private partnership(n.d.), Key features of common law or civil law systems, Available at: http://ppp.worldbank.org/public-private-partnership/legislation-regulation/framework-assessment/legal-systems/common-vs-civil-law. (Assessed 22 February 2014) Jones, L (2011), Introduction to Business Law, New York: Oxford University Press. Central London Property Trust v High Trees House (1947) KB 130, 44, 53, 110, 119, 595 Hartley v Ponsonby(1875) 7 EL BL 872, 106 Pinnel’s Case (1602) 5 Co Rep 117, 108, 109, 117, 595 Stilk v Myrick (1809) 2 Camp 317, 106, 107, 589 Williams v Roffey Bros (1990) 1 ALL ER 512 CA, 107-109, 118, 119