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Elements of a Contract and Breach of Contract
In Mary’s case, there are several issues: whether there exists a contract between her and Mr. Shifty; whether the contract fulfils the elements of a valid contract; and whether there is breach of contract.
There are two types of contracts which include: express contracts; and implied contracts. In express contracts, terms are clearly stated by the parties. Implied contracts are contracts that are deduced from the circumstances of the case or by the actions of the parties. The terms are not expressly stated by the parties. There exists an express contract between Mary and Mr. Shifty. After the meeting, Mary met Mr. Shifty and told him she had a synopsis of a story she wanted Mr. Shifty to consider. Mary told Mr. Shifty that she wanted the synopsis to fund her last three years of college. Mr. Shifty then promised to accept anything Mary would send. The terms are orally stated by Mary and Mr. Shifty. Therefore, there exists an express contract between Mary and Mr. Shifty.
The six elements of a contract include: offer; acceptance; consideration; mutuality of obligation; competency and capacity; and the contract must be in writing. An offer can be defined as a promise to do something in exchange for a promise to do something. An offer is made by the offeror. In the contract between Mary and Mr. Shifty, the former is the offeror and the latter is the offeree. Mary made the offer to Mr. Shifty. After the film society meeting, Mary approached Mr. Shifty and stated that she had a synopsis of a story that she wanted him to look at. Mary also stated that she hoped that her story would fund her last three years of college. By saying this, Mary was making an offer to Mr. Shifty. The first element, offer, is present.
The second element is acceptance. Acceptance is usually an expression of agreement with the terms made by the offeror. Acceptance is done by the offeree. In this case, Mr. Smith is the offeree. After Mary made the offer, Mr. Shifty responded by giving her his new business card and telephone number. He then grabbed her hand, gave her a kiss on the cheek and said, “Anything that you send, I will accept.” Those words said by Mr. Shifty are an acceptance of Mary’s offer.
The third element of a valid contract is consideration. Consideration may be defined as something valuable that persuades a party to enter into a contract. Mary told Mr. Shifty that she expected the synopsis to fund her last three years of college. This is what persuaded Mary to enter into a contract with Mr. Shifty. Mr. Shifty was persuaded by Mary’s synopsis and he accepted these terms. If Mr. Shifty hadn’t accepted the term that the synopsis would fund Mary’s last three years of college, Mary wouldn’t have been persuaded to enter into a contract with Mr. Shifty. The third element, consideration is present.
The fourth element of a contract is mutuality of obligation. Mutuality of obligation implies that all parties in a contract have to be bound to perform their obligations. Mary was bound to send her hypnosis to Mr. Shifty. Mr. Shifty was bound to accept Mary’s synopsis and fund her last three years of college. The fourth element, mutuality of obligation, is present.
The fifth element is competency and capacity. At the time of making of the contract, Mr. Shifty was an adult of sound mind. Mary was seventeen years old, therefore a minor. A minor may void a contract if they deem fit. If the minor involved doesn’t perform their part, no action may be taken against them. In this case, Mary doesn’t want to void the contract between her and Mr. Shifty, therefore the contract is still in place.
The sixth element is the writing requirement. It is not compulsory that every contract be in writing for it to be valid. However, the plaintiff must have more proof, other than their oral statement that there was a contract in place. In this case, we can assume that Mary has a copy of the synopsis she sent to Mr. Shifty. That, together with previews for a new movie, produced by DreamWorks Pictures that was identical to her story on the scientists in the Arctic, will help build her case.
Breach of contract is failure to perform a particular obligation set out in a contract. Mary fulfilled her obligation by mailing an envelope to Mr. Shifty’s office. The envelope contained a two-page synopsis of a story for a motion picture that she had written over the summer. She later called Mr. Shifty’s office to confirm whether they received her envelope. The secretary responded and told Mary that the envelope had been received. Mary now expected Mr. Shifty to perform his end of the contract by funding her last three years of college. Instead, Mr. Shifty used her synopsis to make a new movie but Mary never received any additional communication from Mr. Shifty or his office. Mr. Shifty’s failure to contact Mary shows that he had no intention of fulfilling his obligation in their contract. He had no intention of funding Mary’s last three years of college. This amounts to breach of contract. The appropriate remedy in Mary’s case would be the remedy of specific performance against Mr. Shifty. Mr. Shifty can be ordered to perform his obligation by funding her last three years of college.
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