JD Contract Law 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the common law, which element is NOT required for a valid contract?
- Offer
- Acceptance
- Consideration
- Written documentation (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Written documentation
Most common law contracts are enforceable without a writing; the Statute of Frauds requires a writing only for specific categories of contracts.
Question 2: What is 'promissory estoppel' in contract law?
- A defense to breach of contract
- A doctrine enforcing promises lacking consideration when detrimental reliance occurred (Correct answer)
- A type of contractual condition
- A rule limiting damages to expectation interest
Correct answer: A doctrine enforcing promises lacking consideration when detrimental reliance occurred
Promissory estoppel enforces a promise without consideration when the promisor reasonably expected the promisee to rely on it and the promisee did so to their detriment.
Question 3: Under the UCC Article 2, which types of transactions does it govern?
- Sales of real property
- Service contracts
- Sales of goods (Correct answer)
- Employment agreements
Correct answer: Sales of goods
UCC Article 2 governs contracts for the sale of goods, which are movable tangible personal property, not real estate or services.
Question 4: The 'mirror image rule' in common law contract formation requires that acceptance must do what?
- Be made in writing
- Exactly match the terms of the offer (Correct answer)
- Be made within a reasonable time
- Come from the offeree personally
Correct answer: Exactly match the terms of the offer
Under the mirror image rule, an acceptance that varies any term of the offer is treated as a rejection and counteroffer rather than a valid acceptance.
Question 5: Which doctrine allows a court to refuse enforcement of an unconscionable contract?
- Frustration of purpose
- Mutual mistake
- Unconscionability (Correct answer)
- Impossibility
Correct answer: Unconscionability
Unconscionability doctrine (codified in UCC § 2-302 and recognized at common law) allows courts to refuse enforcement of contracts that are oppressively one-sided.
Question 6: Under the Statute of Frauds, which type of contract MUST be in writing to be enforceable?
- Contracts for the sale of goods under $100
- Contracts for the sale of land (Correct answer)
- Month-to-month lease agreements
- Employment contracts under one year
Correct answer: Contracts for the sale of land
The Statute of Frauds requires contracts for the sale of real property to be memorialized in a signed writing to be enforceable.
JD Contract Law 1
Under the common law, which element is NOT required for a valid contract?