Responses
Every week, we, the students at the University of Cumberlands are given weekly readings that help not only in keeping us engaged throughout the week but also to aid in a better understanding of the different course concepts. These weekly readings have proved beneficial to me since at the end of every week, and I end up with several new ideas and methods intuited from the lesson. This week, I was looking at chapter 12, Contracts and sales. The chapter was an extension of last week’s reading, explaining more on the concepts of performance, Remedies and collection.
From the reading, I learned of the concepts of defences and capacity, where parties getting involved in a valid contract must have the capacity. Capacity, in this case, includes age which should be 18 years and above and mental capacity. Any party that has not acquired the required age is referred to as an infant or a minor. One interesting thing I learned about age capacity is that contracts which have children as parties are voidable since the minor can pull out of the deal at will. Mental capacity was also another exciting concept about contracts and defences. For one to be considered to have a mental capacity, that person must clearly understand that contracts are enforceable and should also understand all important legal documents. Two things I learned from the readings about the legal capacity is that if there is a party is declared legally incompetent, then the contract is void. If there is no legal capacity in a party, the contract becomes voidable.
Several defences come into play when parties are forming contracts. These defences help parties to ensure that the contracts are not enforceable due to some defects which might be available in the agreements. One of these defences is the Incapacity. The parties entering a contract must have the capacity, which is either mental or age. When a party enters a contract with a minor, the agreement can only be enforceable if that minor has been emancipated; otherwise, the deal remains voidable, and the minor can pull out of the contract any time. Mental Incapacity is another reason that may make an agreement unenforceable. Individuals with mental problems are not allowed by law to enter contracts.
Mistakes and misrepresentations are other cases that may make a contract to be unenforceable. Errors can be either from one party or from both parties, but either way, they can be used to form grounds for defence against enforcing a contract. Any contract that contains some misrepresentation in it cannot be enforceable.
Sly has had misrepresentation since he did not give the real details when it comes to the car’s fuel consumption. Secondly, he lied that that was the best car around. Nothing changes when Sly says that the car covers 40 miles per gallon of gas while it only covers 30 miles since that still remains a misrepresentation.
References
Zhang, M. (2019). Contract Defenses—Validity Issues. In Chinese Contract Law-Theory & Practice (pp. 178-239). Brill Nijhoff.
Snyder, F. G., & Burge, M. E. (2017). American Contract Law for a Global Age: Chapters 1 and 2.
Hi,
This is an excellent post. When it comes to the formation of contracts, several issues need to be put into consideration. Some contracts cannot be enforceable due to the nature of the parties that are entering into the contract. For instance, parties that enter a deal must have the capacity. This capacity includes age and mental capacities. Any party that enters a contract with a minor (Usually below 18 years) enters an unenforceable agreement. Such agreements are avoidable, and the minor can pull off any time. Such a deal becomes enforceable if the little gets married or moved out to live on their premises.
Hi,
I have read and liked your post. Several defences come into play when parties are forming contracts. These defences help parties to ensure that the contracts are not enforceable due to some defects which might be available in the agreements. One of these defences is the Incapacity. Mistakes and misrepresentations are other cases that may make a contract to be unenforceable. Errors can be either from one party or from both parties, but either way, they can be used to form grounds for defence against enforcing a contract. For one to be considered to have a mental capacity, that person must clearly understand that contracts are enforceable and should also understand all important legal documents.