Contracts are promises that the law will enforce. The law provides remedies
if a promise is breached or recognizes the performance of a promise as a duty.
Contracts arise when a duty does or may come into existence, because of a promise
made by one of the parties. To be legally binding as a contract, a promise must
be exchanged for adequate consideration. Adequate consideration is a benefit
or detriment which a party receives which reasonably and fairly induces them
to make the promise/contract. For example, promises that are purely gifts are
not considered enforceable because the personal satisfaction the grantor of
the promise may receive from the act of giving is normally not considered adequate
consideration. Certain promises that are not considered contracts may, in limited
circumstances, be enforced if one party has relied to his detriment on the assurances
of the otherparty.
Contracts are mainly governed by state statutory and common (judge-made) law
and private law. Private law principally includes the terms of the agreement
between the parties who are exchanging promises. This private law may override
many of the rules otherwise established by state law. Statutory law may require
some contracts be put in writing and executed with particular formalities. Otherwise,
the parties may enter into a binding agreement without signing a formal written
document. Most of the principles of the common law of contracts are outlined
in the Restatement Second of The Law of Contracts (http://www.ali.org/ali/contract.htm)
published by the American Law Institute. The Uniform Commercial Code, whose
original articles have been adopted in nearly every state, represents a body
of statutory law that governs important categories of contracts. The main articles
that deal with the law of contracts are Article
1 (General Provisions) and Article
2 (Sales). Sections of Article
9 (Secured Transactions) govern contracts assigning the rights to payment
in security interest agreements. Contracts related to particular activities
or business sectors may be highly regulated by state and/or federal law. See
Law
Relating To Other Topics Dealing with Particular Activities or Business Sectors.
Your relationship with your
employees doesn't have to be a battle. Spelling out the terms of employment ahead of time can help head
off disputes at the pass.
Contracts for
the purchase of computer hardware and software are as varied as the products themselves. A purchase of
a $3,000 pre-packaged system can be closed with a handshake. This article examines the issues.
The need for software
development and licensing agreements with third party customers is obvious. However, there are also
internal issues in the software development team which should be covered by appropriate agreements.
These agreements should be put into place before development work begins. If a disagreement arises
after the work is underway it may be too late to avoid costly litigation and unexpected losses.
The Department of Labor's
Equal Employment Opportunity Survey represents a significant change to the agency's regulations. Labor
lawyers tell Office.com what to expect from the new rules.
Allen Smith proposed to an
Australian woman he met through match.com just weeks after the two began exchanging e-mails. Bergittia
von Buelow de Rothschild said yes, and she left Philadelphia sporting an engagement ring for which
Smith had coughed up $12,475.
Smith never saw his intended again.
Sacramento County court
workers blame interference from the Administrative Office of the Courts for the impasse that sent them
out on strike Tuesday. United Public Employees contends the AOC is trying to influence bargaining by
requiring local court administrators to put language in the contract limiting salary increases.
However, AOC Director William Vickrey denied that claim.
Your relationship with your
employees doesn't have to be a battle. Spelling out the terms of employment ahead of time can help head
off disputes at the pass.
Contracts for
the purchase of computer hardware and software are as varied as the products themselves. A purchase of
a $3,000 pre-packaged system can be closed with a handshake. This article examines the issues.
The need for software
development and licensing agreements with third party customers is obvious. However, there are also
internal issues in the software development team which should be covered by appropriate agreements.
These agreements should be put into place before development work begins. If a disagreement arises
after the work is underway it may be too late to avoid costly litigation and unexpected losses.
The Department of Labor's
Equal Employment Opportunity Survey represents a significant change to the agency's regulations. Labor
lawyers tell Office.com what to expect from the new rules.
Allen Smith proposed to an
Australian woman he met through match.com just weeks after the two began exchanging e-mails. Bergittia
von Buelow de Rothschild said yes, and she left Philadelphia sporting an engagement ring for which
Smith had coughed up $12,475.
Smith never saw his intended again.
Sacramento County court
workers blame interference from the Administrative Office of the Courts for the impasse that sent them
out on strike Tuesday. United Public Employees contends the AOC is trying to influence bargaining by
requiring local court administrators to put language in the contract limiting salary increases.
However, AOC Director William Vickrey denied that claim.
