Contracts and Privacy Issues in Business

Abstract

Contracts are the cornerstone of many of our daily interactions. Whether verbal or written, contracts are used to sell and purchase goods, transfer services and property, and to officiate a hire among many other business dealings. Contracts are voluntary between two or more parties and are enforceable in a court of law. In this dissertation, the author will describe the four elements of a valid contract, describe the objective theory of contracts and how the objective theory applies to the PepsiCo v John D.R. Leonard case. The author will further explain why the court upheld that Leonard’s contract defense was not valid and the detail the difference between a unilateral contract and a reward situation.

Contracts and Privacy Issues

A contract is a binding agreement involving two or more parties, creating an obligation to perform or to refrain from performing a particular action/duty now or at a future time (Contracts, 2005). Whether the contract is written or verbal, it is a legal agreement that is enforceable in a court of law and the party who does not fulfill his/her end of the bargain may be subject to court sanctions and under some circumstances required to uphold the agreement (Contract Basics, n.d.). There are however four elements that must be present for a contract to be valid: an offer, and acceptance, consideration, competent parties and legality (AIU Online Virtual Campus, 2013).

Every valid contract contains an offer and acceptance which communicates the job description, compensation and time of performance to which both parties have agreed (The Law of Contracts: What Constitutes a Contract? 2011). An offer should be unambiguous and clearly expressed; it communicates to another person that there is an intent/willingness to enter into a bargain. The offer remains open until the offeree accepts or rejects; or the offer retracted or expires. Included in the offer is a statement of intent to enter into a contract, terms and conditions...