Is There a Contract

8/2/2019 Is There a Contract

1/16

Is there a contract?


2/16

Q1: Smart student e-mails the following tothe class: I offer to tutor any student who

desires Cyberlaw tutoring at a price of $35per hour, once a week for the remainder of

the semester. Hazy Student replies via

return e-mail, I accept. Does Smartstudent now have a contractual obligation to

provide tutoring to Hazy Student?


3/16

Q2: On January 15, 1999,Richards e-

mails Flowers the following note: Iwould be interested in buying your lot on

Gravatt Drive in Oakland, California, if I

can deal with you directly and not runthrough a realtor. If you are interested,

please advise me by return e-mail the

cash price you would expect to receive.


4/16

On January 19, 1999, Flower replies

via e-mail, Thank you for your

inquiry regarding my lot on Gravatt

Drive. As long as your offer wouldbe in cash, I see no reason why we

could not deal directly on this matter.

Considering what I paid for the lot,and the taxes which I have paid, I

expect to receive $45,000. Please let

me know what you decide.


5/16

On January 25, 1999, Richards sends

the following e-mail to Flowers: Haveagreed to buy your lot on your terms.

Will handle transactions through local

title company who will contact you.

When, if it all, was a contract formed?


6/16

What about EDI?

(Electronic Data Interchange)


7/16

Q3: You place an order to buy a VCRover the Internet with a company

called Interbuy.

Interbuy generates an EDI (electronic

data interchange) e-mail message,

acknowledging receipt of your order.Is Interbuy obligated by contract to

sell you the VCR?


8/16

Interbuy generates an EDI tracking

number, and sends it to you via e-

mail. Is Interbuy obligated by

contract to sell you the VCR?


9/16

Interbuy generates a return e-mailmessage via EDI, saying your offer

to purchase a VCR from us is

accepted. Is interbuy obligated bycontract to sell you the VCR?


10/16

Q4:

June 1 A mails B an offer.

June 3 B receives the offer.

June 4 B mails a letter of acceptance.

June 5 A mails B a letter revoking the offer.

June 6 A receives Bs letter of acceptance.



11/16

Q5:

9:00 A e-mails B an offer.

9:30 B receives the offer.

9:32 B e-mails a message of acceptance.

9:33 A phones B, revoking the offer.

9:35 A receives Bs e-mailed message ofacceptance.



12/16

Q6:

April 11 John mails Mary an offer.

April 13 Mary receives the offer and mails aletter of acceptance.

April 14 Mary phones John and states she is

rejecting the offer.

April 15 John receives the acceptance that Mar

mailed.Is there a contract?


13/16

Q7:

12:00 John e-mails Mary an offer.

1:00 Mary receives the offer and e-mails anacceptance.

2:00 Mary phones John and states she is

rejecting the offer.

3:00 John receives Marys e-mailed

acceptance.



14/16

Q8: Your medical insurance companyautomatically generates (via EDI) notices thatpremiums are due. You dont pay your

premium, and then have an accident soon after

the premium was due. You file for benefits, butthe insurance company refuses to pay, informing

you that your insurance has been cancelled for

nonpayment of premiums. You argue (honestly)

that you never received the companys bill.

Who is more likely to win this case? Any

guesses why?


15/16

Q9: In January of 2001, United Airlines offered ticketsaround the world under a program called Fantasy Fares.Due to a computer error, the airline sold 143 tickets during a

55-minute period at extremely low bargain fares. For

example, San Francisco to Paris was $24.95 round-trip, and

similar deals were available to places like Hong Kong.

If you go on the Web, and the airline offers such fares and

allows you to purchase the ticket on your credit card, is the

airline contractually bound to honor the deal? Or can they get

out of the deal?

Of course, those are legal questions. Another level of

questions are business questions: IF United is not bound by

contract, what should it do?


16/16

Q10: Under traditional contract law, a signed,

written document is not required for a contract toexist. An exception is the statute of frauds, which

requires a signed writing for certain kinds of

contracts, including

a. contracts for sale of goods priced $500 or more

b. contracts for sale of land or an interest in landc. contracts that cannot be performed within one

year of the date of their making

d. contracts to answer for the debt of another

e. contracts in consideration of marriage

Question: Does this mean that none of the above

kinds of contracts can be created over interactive

computer networks? Consider chat lines, electronic

bulletin boards, and e-mail.

Is There a Contract

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