Touchstone: Did Jim and Laura Buy a Car?
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Touchstone2feedback.docxRunning Head: BUSINESS LAW 1
BUSINESS LAW 5
Abel Simorangkir Comment by Barbara Lewis: Abel, I look forward to reading your essay.
Business Law
February 27, 2021
Business Law
Jim and Laura Buyer engaged in an oral agreement that can't be classified as a contract because it lacked the legal intent and consideration besides incorporating the other elements of a contract: offer, acceptance, and competency. Engaging in a contract must involve physical signatures, but Jim and Laura never considered the repercussions of leaving Stan with their $100.00 as the car deposit. Jim and Laura's contract with Stan was beyond proving because they did not record anywhere, and Stan could deny getting the deposit from the prospective buyers. I believe that Jim and Laura didn't study law, and they gave out money without recording out of anxiety and love for the blue 4-door sedan car, instead of asking for Stan's terms and conditions. Stan assured Jim and Laura that the deposit was refundable but didn't give them a receipt, and no documents were signed.
Legal Contract Elements
Jim and Laura Buyer could have requested to sign documents as evidence of the deposit but left the promises, only to come the next day and find that the deposit couldn't be refunded and was part of the buying price. Going for a lawyer would make things more complicated because Jim and Laura don't have any proof to sue Stan in a court of law. Courts require sufficient evidence before pronouncing a suspect guilty. The legal contract elements play a vital role in enhancing customer safety. If Jim and Laura understood the elements well, they could not have gone forward to give away the $100.00 without recording and signing a contract form with the salesperson. Contract elements: offer, acceptance, consideration, legal intent, and competency protect both businesses and buyers, and I believe could have secured Jim and Laura's money. Comment by Barbara Lewis: This Touchstone is not about proof. It’s only an analysis of contract formation under the given facts. You aren’t being asked to prove anything.
The offer determines whether both parties agree to engage in a contract and is accompanied by signing a contract. The signature determines what the parties intend to do or not do. Jim and Laura decided to offer $100 to Stan as the deposit and went ahead to give out the money. The two parties did not sign any contract, and theirs may not be classified as a contract engagement because besides the offer being cleared stated, there was no documentation to prove the agreement. The offer wasn't clear enough to convince judges in the court because the contract was imaginary and not specific as legally required. The acceptance element involves the receiver agreeing on the offer. Stan voluntarily agreed to acquire the $100 as a deposit but didn't enter into a contract with the buyers. Elements of blackmail weren't present nor detected between the parties. Consideration involves the amount the party pays to complete the payment. Jim and Laura agreed with Stan that the deposit would be refundable, but there was no mention of the amount being topped up to complete the payment. Comment by Barbara Lewis: What is significant about this statement?
The contract's legality was wanting because Jim and Laura never bothered to sign any contract and trusted Stan from the first sight. The buyers didn't seek clarification of how the money they gave out could be accounted for before giving out the amount. The parties' intentions seem different because the buyers gave out a deposit hoping they would get it back in full amount, but Stan had other plans. The agreement lacked legal intent: it wasn't legally binding. The agreement was loose with no intention of one party suing the other in case of a breach. The final contract element is a competency that requires the parties involved to discover themselves and know what they are doing, including understanding all the steps, guidelines, and procedures involved in a contract agreement (Park et al., 2020). Jim and Laura were not well-versed with the competency element, and that's why Stan's car company may not compensate them. Comment by Barbara Lewis: What do you mean? Comment by Barbara Lewis: What do you mean that it was loose?
Contract For The Automobile Purchase
A legal contract must incorporate all the contract elements, from the offer through legal intent to competency. There was no contract between the buyers and Stan. Both parties should have entered into a contract by signing a document indicating the contract's terms and conditions. Jim and Laura orally spoke to Stan and didn't request any contract agreement but only decided to trust Stan and leave their money with him to collect the following day. Signing a contract would have enabled Jim and Laura to understand that they won't get their deposit back, and they would have decided not to give out the money for security purposes. I would advise Jim and Laura not to go to court because they lack substantial evidence to support their claim. Stan didn't give the boys a receipt for the deposit, and upon deciding to call off the agreement, Stan was safer to hold their money and convince them not to forego the blue car. Going to court would require evidence, but Jim and Laura didn't have any proof to show that they gave Stan money and its intended purpose. The deposit was equivalent to lose because no documents were signed. Comment by Barbara Lewis: Why is it important to have a sign document? What law or statute says it should be signed?
A legal contract involves at least two parties agreeing on a particular issue that benefits both parties and highlights the possible deviant consequences (Beatty et al., 2018). Jim and Laura's agreement with Stan was a car dealership yard communication that involved exchanging money with empty promises. The boys didn't bother to contract legal measures because they weren't even bothered when Stan failed to give a receipt for the $100.00 deposit payment but agreed to go and come back the following day. A legal contract is a written document undersigned by the involved parties to mean that they agree to what is written and are aware of the possible consequences upon going against the contract. The contract lacked adequate consideration and legality and looked like blackmail because the boys left the yard without proof of the deposit payment. Comment by Barbara Lewis: What boys?
Signing a contract could sue Stan in court because he was accountable for not giving Jim and Laura back their money. Enough evidence to prosecute Stan is still the biggest challenge because everyone knows the truth. Still, courts depend on documented evidence and can only be satisfied upon acquiring the contract agreement between Stan and the boys. Contract agreements are written to prove the agreements between the involved parties (Kubasek et al., 2019). Stan's contact contained natural elements that do not require thorough prove but unfortunately, courts don't recognize oral evidence. I would advise Jim and Laura not to find a lawyer. Still, just to let the money go because without adequate evidence, they won't win the court case besides knowing very well that they gave Stan money and he breached the oral contract by not refunding the $100.00 deposit amount. The boys are unwilling to purchase the car, and the one-day period for the deposit has already elapsed. This means that in whichever case, they would lose the money. I would advise Jim and Laura to surrender and make an effort to study and understand business law to avoid future contract agreement problems. Comment by Barbara Lewis: You can have oral contacts. Oral contracts are enforceable by the law.
References
Beatty, J. F., Samuelson, S. S., & Abril, P. (2018). Business law and the legal environment. Cengage Learning.
Kubasek, N. K., Browne, M. N., Herron, D. J., Dhooge, L. J., & Barkacs, L. L. (2019). Dynamic business law: The essentials (pp. 28-50). McGraw-Hill Education.
Park, S., Goodwin, B. K., Zheng, X., & Rejesus, R. M. (2020). Contract elements, growing conditions, and anomalous claims behaviour in US crop insurance. The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance-Issues and Practice, 45(1), 157-183.
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Business Law Touchstone Rubric and Feedback |
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Rubric Category |
Feedback |
Score (acceptable, needs improvement etc.) |
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Contract Definition |
Contract law has not been fully defined. The elements need to be defined (offer, acceptance, consideration, mutuality of obligation, and legal capacity). The essay should make connections from the scenario to the definition of contract law helped strengthen the essay. |
5/25 Non-performance
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Case Judgement |
The essay did decide whether or not there was a contract for the purchase of the automobile. |
19/25 Acceptable |
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Case Support |
The essay did not make the connection to contract law. The essay did not illustrate why there was a contract by using the definition of contract law and provide evidence from the scenario to support the argument. |
5/25 Non-performance
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Source |
The essay met the number of qualified sources. The essay intermingled the sources into the argument. The course notes are not one of the qualified sources. |
12/15 Proficient |
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Conventions
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There are occasional errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, capitalization, formatting, and usage. |
8/10 Proficient
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Overall Score and Feedback: 49/100
Abel, The focus of the essay should be on the elements of a contract. To make a case on contract law, you should define the elements of contract law and link it to examples from the scenario.
To help organize the essay, I would suggest the following. 1. Introductory paragraph 0. Introduce scenario 0. Summary scenario 0. State if there was a contract and what was the contract? 1. Contract law and the definitions of all of the elements. 1. Offer 1. Acceptance 1. Consideration 1. Mutuality of obligation 1. Legal capacity. 1. Elements and the link to the scenario. 2. Offer – what is the offer in the scenario. 2. Acceptance - what is the acceptance in the scenario. 2. Consideration – what was the consideration in the scenario. 2. Mutuality of obligation – what is the mutuality of obligation in the scenario. 2. Legal capacity – did the parties have legal capacity? If so, how is that determined from the scenario. 1. Conclusion – recap essay and case summary.
Please use APA formatting creating your in-text citations and reference page.
Dr Lewis |
