Contract Basics
A contract is basically an agreement or promise. Contract law is initially concerned with determining what promises the law will enforce or recognize as creating legal rights. There are several forms of contracts.
For example, a promise made as a bargained exchange for something of legally sufficient value may be enforced as a contract. The agreement may be in written or oral words and therefore be an Express Contract. It may be made clear by conduct or by some combination of words and conduct, in which case the agreement may be qualified as an implied contract. In the case of an express contract, a person makes a specific offer…let’s say to loan money or sell a car. The person to whom the offer is made then may reject the offer, accept the offer, or choose to further negotiate the terms of the offer.
In the case of a loan contract, a person may choose to negotiate the rate of interest on the loan or the length of time the loan will last before agreeing. Each time one or the other party changes the original offer, the new offer or counter-offer becomes a new contract for the person considering the contract to agree to or not.
A promise may also be enforced if the making of the promise reasonably induced another person to change position in reliance on the promise. Sometimes Courts enforce promises because the law in Florida states that it must. For example, when a car dealer sells you a new car, he promises to give you three days to cancel the contract.
In yet another type of contract, a court may impose a contractual relationship in a particular situation as part of restitution. This is done even though there was no actual offer or acceptance, but one party has been unjustly enriched by receiving benefit from the other for which they rightfully should pay.
As you can see, this area of the law can be confusing, but may be important to you as a consumer. It is always advisable to have a qualified lawyer on your side to help you if you believe you have been hurt by a broken promise. Contact us at Law Offices of Evan D. Frankel, P.A. if you have any legal problems and we will help you to know your rights.
