MS Bar MS Bar Contracts 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following elements are required for a valid contract under Mississippi common law?
- Written agreement and notarization
- Offer, acceptance, and consideration (Correct answer)
- Witnesses and a signed document
- Payment of money and delivery of goods
Correct answer: Offer, acceptance, and consideration
A valid contract requires offer, acceptance, and consideration — the three foundational elements of contract formation under common law.
Question 2: Under the mailbox rule, an acceptance sent by mail is effective:
- When the offeror actually reads it
- When the offeror receives it in their mailbox
- At the moment the offeree deposits it in the mail (Correct answer)
- 48 hours after the offeree sends it
Correct answer: At the moment the offeree deposits it in the mail
Under the mailbox rule (dispatch rule), acceptance is effective upon dispatch — the moment the offeree sends it — not when the offeror receives it.
Question 3: Which of the following constitutes valid consideration for a contract?
- A promise based solely on a past act already performed
- A moral obligation to repay a debt discharged in bankruptcy
- A bargained-for promise to refrain from exercising a legal right (Correct answer)
- A gift made without any conditions attached
Correct answer: A bargained-for promise to refrain from exercising a legal right
A bargained-for promise to forbear from exercising a legal right constitutes valid legal detriment and thus qualifies as consideration.
Question 4: A 'firm offer' under UCC Article 2 is irrevocable without consideration when:
- Any party orally promises to keep it open for 30 days
- A merchant makes a signed written offer to keep it open (Correct answer)
- The buyer pays a deposit to hold the offer
- The offer is witnessed by a notary public
Correct answer: A merchant makes a signed written offer to keep it open
Under UCC §2-205, a firm offer is a signed written offer by a merchant to buy or sell goods, which is irrevocable for up to three months without requiring consideration.
Question 5: Under the Statute of Frauds, which of the following contracts MUST be in writing to be enforceable?
- A contract for services worth $200 completed in one day
- A contract for the sale of goods priced at $500 or more (Correct answer)
- Any contract where one party is under 21 years old
- An oral contract between two sophisticated business parties
Correct answer: A contract for the sale of goods priced at $500 or more
Under UCC §2-201, contracts for the sale of goods at a price of $500 or more must be evidenced by a writing to be enforceable.
Question 6: An offer is automatically terminated by operation of law when:
- The offeree takes more than three days to respond
- The offeror changes their mind privately without telling the offeree
- The offeror dies before the offeree accepts (Correct answer)
- The offeree requests additional time to consider
Correct answer: The offeror dies before the offeree accepts
Death of the offeror terminates the offer by operation of law because the offeror's legal capacity to contract ceases upon death.
Question 7: Under the common law mirror image rule, a purported acceptance that adds new terms is treated as:
- A valid acceptance binding both parties
- A counteroffer that rejects the original offer (Correct answer)
- A conditional acceptance that suspends the original offer
- A modification enforceable if supported by consideration
Correct answer: A counteroffer that rejects the original offer
Under the common law mirror image rule, an acceptance that varies any term of the original offer operates as a rejection and counteroffer, not an acceptance.
MS Bar MS Bar Contracts 1
Which of the following elements are required for a valid contract under Mississippi common law?