A contract is a legal agreement between two parties where each party is mandated to discharge a particular task within a specified period. A contract agreement comprises two or more parties, each with different roles (Andrews, 2015). One example of a contract agreement is a verbal contract, where parties agree verbally without recording, such as writing on paper. In the case of Jim and Laura vs. Stan. The contract was verbal, though it fails on various elements of a legal contract agreement, such as legality, as it does not outline the laws applicable to the contract.
One form of breach of contract is duress. It occurs when a party enters an agreement without being free to choose when an individual takes action because it was the only option (Kull, 2020). In this case, Jim and Laura were under duress because they offered to buy the car when they had no total amount to pay the salesperson. Therefore, Kim and Laura can sue the salesperson for breaching the contract through duress, as the other party was not aware of the consequences of the contract, such as the withholding of their $100.
One shortcoming of the contract between Jim, Laura, and Stan is a misrepresentation and mistake. A misrepresentation is a false statement given by one of the parties to influence the other into entering the contract. In this case, Stan misrepresented the contract by telling Jim and Laura that their money is refundable, yet he declines to refund the money. A mistake is where a particular party unknowingly enters an agreement without complete information regarding the contract. In this case, Jim and Laura are victims of an error since they entered a contract unknowingly. In such incidences, the innocent party, Jim and Laura, can legally terminate the agreement on the grounds of breach by Stan.
One element of a valid contract is accepting the terms and conditions of the contract through valid signatures. For instance, in buying a car through installments, the seller must inform the buyers about the policies governing purchasing the item. In this case, Stan did not offer the duo any terms and conditions to sign up for. Therefore, it means that the contract’s validity is unclear as it did not provide complete details, and hence Jim and Laura can decline the additional terms being made by Stan.
Another breach that surrounds the agreement understudy is a fraudulent inducement. It occurs when one party deceives the other on the essential term of a contract to influence them into entering the contract. As in Jim and Laura’s case, Stan presented them with a suitable term that induced them to enter the agreement (Liu, 2019). He told them that their deposit was refundable, yet he declined to refund it. Therefore, Jim and Laura can argue that the contract is not enforceable since the salesman presented himself fraudulently to them.
Proof is also an essential feature in any legal agreement. Parties must prove their agreements using photographs, signatures, and or handshakes. In Jim and Laura’s case, the contract is invalid because no proof of agreement was made. For instance, there were no signatories related to the contract between the salesman and the buyers. More so, the salesman did not provide proof of payments through receipts. Therefore, the sales representative cannot prove that he had entered an agreement of a specified amount of money from the buyers. Therefore, Jim and Laura deserve their refund and should argue that no contract exists between them and the salesman as there is no proof.
Another shortcoming related to the contract is that it is indefinite. It refers to where the contract’s elements are unclear, such as the payment amounts or the duration of the contract. In the case under review, the contract contains various indefinite elements. For instance, there is no agreement about the deadline of the payments. There are also no specified installments that the buyers are supposed to pay. Therefore, the contract is not enforceable due to its indefinite nature; hence, the buyers can argue that they cannot discharge any agreement since nothing was agreed on regarding the time and payments of the vehicle.
In conclusion, a contract is a legal agreement between two parties that is discharged according to specific timelines. In the case between Jim and Laura, the contract made is not enforceable because it contains elements of breach such as duress, misrepresentation and mistakes, no acceptance proof, and the indefinite nature of the contract. Therefore, Jim and Laura can argue it is not enforceable as it does not match the requirements of a valid contract and thus claim their refund from the sales representative, Stan.
References
Andrews, N. (2015). Contract law. Cambridge University Press.
Kull, A. (2020). Restitution as a Remedy for Breach of Contract. In Restitution (pp. 293-346). Routledge.
Liu, Q. (2019). Termination of contract for fundamental breach. In Research Handbook on Remedies in Private Law. Edward Elgar Publishing.
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