Areas of the Law-Contracts
Life is about agreements. The materials in this section explore these agreements.
Agreements you make with others are often called contracts, but there are several variations on this. You have employment contracts and marital contracts; your lease is a contract, as are arrangements with creditors.
The first two chapters of this section cover the laws of contracts and torts. This serves as an introduction to the remaining chapters that cover specific areas in which the principles of contract law and tort law are applied.
A contract is an agreement between two persons to either do something or not to do something in exchange for some form of consideration. An agreement may come in several different forms. The agreement may be implied as a result of the conduct of the parties. On the other hand, the agreement may be expressed, meaning that the parties have expressly stated what their intentions are and what they wish to obtain as a result of the agreement. An expressed contract may be in writing or it may be oral. Either type of contract is equally enforceable in most instances, although a written contract is always preferable because it clearly sets forth the terms of the agreement. An oral contract is always subject to dispute, because the parties may have different recollections of exactly what they agreed to.
A contract may be in writing or it may be oral.
Sometimes people classify contracts as unilateral or bilateral. A unilateral contract might be most easily thought of as one in which the offer can be accepted only by doing some act. For instance, if your neighbor offers a $100 reward for the return of his cat, then you can accept that offer only by returning the cat.
A bilateral contract, on the other hand, is one where the giving of a promise is the expected consideration. Most contracts are bilateral. For example, you agree to buy my car for $100. You have agreed to do something (pay me $100) and I have agreed to do something (sell you my car).
