Business Law Today 7

Description:	Chapter 7
Category:	Management
Created by:	nicholashagler on 2009-02-05

Question	Answer
Acceptance	A voluntary act by the offeree that shows assent, or agreement, to the terms of an offer; may consist of words or conduct.
Accord And Satisfaction	A common means of settling a disputed claim, whereby a debtor offers to pay a lesser amound than the creditor purports is owed.
Agreement	A meeting of two or more minds in regard to the terms of a contract; usually broken down into two events- an offer by one party to form a contract and acceptance of the offer by the person to whom the offer is made.
Bilateral Contract	A type of contract that arises when a promise is given in exchange for a return promise.
Consideration	Generally, the value given in return for a promise; involves two elements - the giving of something of legally sufficient value and a bargained-for exchange.
Contract	An agreement that can be enforced in court; formed by two or more competent parties who agree, for consideration, to perform or to refrain from performing some legal act now or in the future.
Counteroffer	An offeree's respons to an offer in which the offeree rejects the original offer and at the same time makes a new offer.
Covenant Not To Sue	An agreement to substitute a contractural obligation for some other type of legal action based on a valid claim.
Estopped	Barred, impeded, or precluded.
Executed Contract	A contract that has been fully performed by both parties.
Executory Contract	A contract that has not yet been fully performed.
Express Contract	A contract in which the terms of the agreement are stated in words, oral or written.
Forbearance	The act of refraining from an action that one has a legal right to undertake.
Formal Contract	A contract that by law requires a specific form, such as being executed under seal, for its validity.
Implied-In-Fact Contract	A contract formed in whole or in part from the conduct of the parties.
Informal Contract	A contract that does not require a specified form or formality to be valid.
Liquidated Debt	A debt for which the amount has been ascertained, fixed, agreed on, settled, or exactly determined.
Mailbox Rule	A rule providing that an acceptance of an offer becomes effective on dispatch, if mail is, expressly or impliedly, an authorized means of communication of acceptance to the offeror.
Mirror Image Rule	A common law rule that requires that the terms of the offeree's acceptance adhere exactly to the terms of the offeror's offer for a valid contract to be formed.
Offer	A promise or commitment to perform or refrain from performing some specified act in the future.
Offeree	A person to whom an offer is made.
Offeror	A person who makes an offer.
Option Contract	A contract under which the offeror cannot revoke the offer for a stipulated time period. During this period, the offeree can accept or reject the offer without fear that the offer will be made to another person.
Past Consideration	An act that takes place before the contract is made and that ordinarily, by itself, cannot be consideration for a later promise to pay for the act.
Promise	An assertion that something either will or will not happen in the future.
Promisor	A person who makes a promise.
Promissory Estoppel	A doctrine that applies when a promisor makes a clear and definite promise on which the promisee justifiably relies. Such a promise is binding if justice will be better served by the enforcement of the promise.
Quasi Contract	A fictional contract imposed on the parties by a court in the interests of fairness and justice; usually imposed to avoid the unjust enrichment of one party at the expense of another.
Release	A contract in which one party forfeits the right to pursue a legal claim against the other party.
Rescission	A remedy whereby a contract is canceled and the parties are returned to the positions they occupied before the contract was made; may be effected through the mutual consent of the parties, by the parties' conduct, or by court decree.
Revocation	In contract law, the withdrawal of an offer by an offeror.
Unenforceable Contract	A valid contract rendered unenforceable by some statue or law.
Unilateral Contract	A contract that results when an offer can be accepted only by the offeree's performance.
Valid Contract	A contract that results when the elements necessary for contract formation are present.
Void Contract	A contract having no legal force or binding effect.
Voidable Contract	A contract that may be legally avoided at the option of one or both of the parties.