Aspects of Contract and Negligence for Business

This report delves into the critical aspects of contract law and negligence liability in business. It outlines the essential elements required to form valid contracts, discusses the application of these elements in real-world business scenarios, and examines the principles of negligence liability. The report is structured into tasks that cover understanding contract law, applying contract elements in business situations, and exploring negligence liability principles. Each task is supported by case studies and relevant legal references, providing a comprehensive overview of the subject matter.

ASPECTS OF CONTRACT AND NEGLIGENCE FOR BUSINESS
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Table of contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Task 1 Understanding law as well as the essential elements to form a valid contract....................3
1.1.................................................................................................................................................3
1.2.................................................................................................................................................4
1.3.................................................................................................................................................4
Task 2 Applying elements of contracts in a business situation.......................................................4
2.1.................................................................................................................................................4
2.2.................................................................................................................................................5
2.3.................................................................................................................................................5
Task 3 Understanding principles of negligence liability in the business activities.........................6
3.1.................................................................................................................................................6
3.2.................................................................................................................................................6
3.3.................................................................................................................................................6
Task 4: Applying principles of negligence liability in a business situation....................................7
4.1.................................................................................................................................................7
4.2.................................................................................................................................................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................7
Bibliography....................................................................................................................................8
References......................................................................................................................................10
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Introduction
In today’s living world, every agreement is a form of contract without which no business
activities is viable or feasible. Most of the operations of business depend on the type of contracts
formed among the parties. Formation of contracts holds an enormous proportion of significance
in forming any business relations or proceeding with any activity. The paper deals with showing
of the importance of various elements in the formation of any valid contract and the principles
which lie behind identifying of principles concerning negligence liability. Each of the tasks
contains a case scenario, based on which the whole study had been done.
Task 1 Understanding law as well as the essential elements to form a valid
contract
1.1
Contract is any agreement among two or more parties which engages in taking up of a mutual
decision about the business transactions or activities. In words of Han (2016, p.43), contracts are
mutually signed or agreed upon documents formed through written or verbal expression of both
the parties. Various types of contract could be identified in case of any business scenario- valid
contract, voidable contract, void agreement, executed contract, executory contract and option
contract. The contract between buyers and sellers could be identified as executed contract since
everything is being completely performed. As per the discussions of Mak (2016, p.23), contract
among principal and the agent could be regarded as option contract since it lets one party to enter
into any contract with the other party such as the agents might form contracts with their clients in
the business circumstances. Executory type of contract exists between the insurer and the insured
since there are few things which are still left to be accomplished. Valid contract exist among the
creditors ad debtors since they are formed in accordance with every legal requirement. The
impacts of each of the contract might be fatal or light since they are ambiguous to be known
about.
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1.2
The formation of a valid contract depends on the presence of few typical elements within them.
As per the statements of Friedmann (2016, po.590), the key elements could be classified as -
offer, acceptance, consideration, mutual consent and intention. Any party speaking out of the
proposal of forming any agreement is termed as an offer. Acceptance is the admissible conduct
projected out by other party to whom the offer is provided. Consideration refers to the value or
the worth the agreement possess which is mutually decided for each of the parties. Mutual
consent is the mutual acceptance of both the parties or all the parties involved in a particular
contract. As per the opinions of Carter et al. (2017, p.22), intention of forming any contract must
be specific, legally valid and authentic.
1.3
Express terms of any contract refer to specific agreements among the parties either in verbal or in
the written form. On the other hand, implied terms of contracts exist within contract without
being expressed verbally or in a written form. As per the observations of Yeung and Huang
(2016, p.300), express terms are already stated in the contracts by the parties. Implied contracts
are inferred from relevant facts as well as circumstances of cases or conduct of different parties.
These contracts might not be explicitly or formally stated in clear terms or words which is
contradictory for the express terms. Under the express terms of a contract, the intention of both
the parties involved is crucially reflected.
Task 2 Applying elements of contracts in a business situation
2.1
Forming such a unilateral contract, Beauty and beast was supposed to keep their words as stated
in the advertisement. It could be easily regarded as a breach of act that has cost Ms, Jenny a lot
on the basis of her time and energy. She must have called up the salon and cleared up the terms
and conditions before driving up to there. The impacts of this breach of act on the contract laws
might be recognisable in the form of damages. As per the facts stated by Robertson (2016,
p.191), compensatory damages, punitive damages and nominal damages could be identified as
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severe impacts on the contract laws. Several elements of contract law could be identified as
consideration, mutuality in obligation, offer, acceptance and legal capacity of forming the
contract. She must have rung the salon for getting sure and consideration had been faulty in this
case. The contract of Ms. Jenny had been based on implied terms since, the actual terms were
hidden from the main content which resulted in a breach of act. Basically three certain
contractual terms are there to support a contract- implied terms, explicit terms and innominate
terms.
2.2
The contract might be discharged based on the following contractual terms or elements that are
needed to be provided importance such as performance, subsequent agreement, frustration,
operation of law and election after breach. Relating to the case study, it could be evaluated that
frustration was the real cause of discharge since she did not know about acceptance or rejection
from other side. A comprehensive contract must follow explicit terms and must clearly consist of
elements required to form the contract which are offer, acceptance, mutual consent,
consideration and legal capacity.
2.3
Being an advisor, it could be suggested that Alan might not have overlooked the phrase ‘public
parade’ for which he had to end up being the ultimate sufferer. Overlooking the terms could
abruptly lead to flaws in a contract and damage any of the parties who suffer at last. According
to the views of Wright (2016, p.110), consideration refers to the exchange of a thing that is
worthy for any other thing. It is basically the value of the contract which is supposed to be
legally sufficient as well bargained by receiving party. Depending on the element of
consideration, a contract belongs to its kinds or types. Negotiable consideration would lead the
contract for being a valid one.
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Task 3 Understanding principles of negligence liability in the business
activities
3.1
Consent is defined as the mutual understanding of the parties involved in a contract which must
be genuine and voluntary. As per the findings of Burns et al. (2016, p.1811), free consent in a
contract happens when it is not due to the following reasons- coercion, fraud, undue influence,
mistake, misinterpretation. Legal consent is the consent which needs legal attention or which
already possess legal value in its contribution in making a contract valid and viable.
3.2
Negligence liability focuses on certain situations which have arisen due to the physical damage
or personal injury that has been caused to life and property respectively. As per the opinions of
Hammer (2016, p.559), the negligence liability works under the following aspects- constituent
harm, reparation and remoteness pertaining to losses as well as breach of duty. Vicariously liable
refers to any situation under which, any individual is responsible for omissions or actions of any
other person. For instance, in the context of a workplace, the employer feels vicariously liable for
omissions or acts of employees, if they took place at the time period of their employment.
3.3
Various methods by which any valid contract could be terminated involves breach of contract,
rescission, completion, performance impossibility and prior commitment or agreement. Any of
the parties who had not been able to prove its capability in the performance of being in a contract
would be termed as performance impossibility. In that case, as suggested by Aryan and
Mirabbasi (2016, p.232), the contract might be terminated based on express terms of a contract.
In the cases of breach of contract, the contract might be terminated as well and in most of the
cases, the terms are implied terms, for which the possibility of breach of act is higher.
Terminating contract based on prior agreement seems to be valid only of the reason that has been
provided for terminating the contract would be legally acceptable and authentic. For example,
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while working in a company with a contract of 3 years might not leave the company until and
unless the reason for leaving the company is justifiable to the employers and board of directors.
Task 4: Applying principles of negligence liability in a business situation
4.1
Remedies in case of violating conditions would include prior determination until fulfilling of the
period of contract which would avoid incurring huge losses to both the parties (Ooi, 2016,
p.420). Each and every term and condition related to the contract must be reviewed thoroughly
for avoiding any kind of discrepancy during the course of contract.
4.2
Negotiable instrument is regarded as any document that guarantees payment of any particular
amount, either on specified demand or under a perfectly set time along with the payer’s name in
the document. According to Alavi (2016, p.120), various types of negotiable instruments include
drafts, checks, promissory notes and bills of exchange. The distinct elements that might occur
dealing with negligence liability includes- presence of car duty, breach of the duty, causes and
proximate causes along with provision of monetary losses. An insurance contract could be
typically explained as an arrangement where, one party accepts risk of insurance being an insurer
from other party who belongs to the professionalism of policyholder. This acceptance of risk is
undertaken for compensating the impacts of any uncertain event of future on the policyholder. In
the context of contract law, an implied covenant regarding good faith along with honest and fair
dealing is considered to be a general presumption which the parties are supposed to deal with
each other in a contract.
Conclusion
Through the above study, it could be understood that elements forming a valid contract must be
significantly present while making the contract else it could be termed as void. Features of
negligence liability as well as its elements are explained in the study. Some advices on breach of
contract and negligence had been provided in the study.
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Bibliography
Alavi, H., (2016). Documentary Letters of Credit, Legal Nature and Sources of Law. Journal of
legal studies, 17(31), pp.106-121.
Aryan, S. and Mirabbasi, B., (2016). The Good Faith Principle and Its Consequences in Pre-
Contractual Period: A Comparative Study on English and French Law. J. Pol. & L., 9, p.232.
Burns, K.E., Hebert, P., Fergusson, D. and Lacroix, J., (2016). Standard And Deferred Consent
In The Age Of Transfused Blood (ABLE) Trial in Critically Ill Adults. In A52. CRITICAL
CARE: ICU PROCEDURES, PROCESSES OF CARE, AND NOVEL TECHNIQUES (pp.
A1811-A1811). American Thoracic Society.
Carter, J.W., Courtney, W. and Tolhurst, G., (2017). AN ASSIMILATED APPROACH TO
DISCHARGE FOR BREACH OF CONTRACT BY DELAY. The Cambridge Law Journal,
41(2), pp.1-24.
Friedmann, D., (2016). Disgorgement of Benefits Gained by Breach of Contract. Osservatorio
del diritto civile e commerciale, 4(2), pp.581-596.
Hammer, M.J., (2016), September. Informed Consent in the Changing Landscape of Research.
In Oncology nursing forum (Vol. 43, No. 5, pp. 558-560).
Han, S., (2016). Force majeure, change of circumstances and termination of contract. Journal of
Law, Society and Development, 3(1), pp.31-44.
Mak, V., (2016). Private Law Perspectives on Platform Services. Journal of European Consumer
and Market Law, 5(1), pp.19-25.
Ooi, M., 2016. The ramifications of fragmentation in the choice of law for shares. Journal of
Private International Law, 12(2), pp.411-435.
Ooi, M., (2016). The ramifications of fragmentation in the choice of law for shares. Journal of
Private International Law, 12(2), pp.411-435.
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Robertson, A., (2016). The limits of interpretation in the law of contract. Victoria U. Wellington
L. Rev., 47(5), p.191.
Wood, R.J., 2016. The Codification of Commercial Law. Sask. L. Rev., 79(4), p.179.
Wright, D., (2016). The Terms of the Contract. Using Commercial Contracts: A Practical Guide
for Engineers and Project Managers, 67(3), pp.101-116.
Yeung, H. and Huang, F., (2016). Certainty Over Clemency: English Contract Law in the Face
of Financial Crisis. In The Effects of Financial Crises on the Binding Force of Contracts-
Renegotiation, Rescission or Revision (pp. 285-305). Springer International Publishing.
9

References
Alavi, H., (2016). Documentary Letters of Credit, Legal Nature and Sources of Law. Journal of
legal studies, 17(31), pp.106-121.
Aryan, S. and Mirabbasi, B., (2016). The Good Faith Principle and Its Consequences in Pre-
Contractual Period: A Comparative Study on English and French Law. J. Pol. & L., 9, p.232.
Burns, K.E., Hebert, P., Fergusson, D. and Lacroix, J., (2016). Standard And Deferred Consent
In The Age Of Transfused Blood (ABLE) Trial in Critically Ill Adults. In A52. CRITICAL
CARE: ICU PROCEDURES, PROCESSES OF CARE, AND NOVEL TECHNIQUES (pp.
A1811-A1811). American Thoracic Society.
Carter, J.W., Courtney, W. and Tolhurst, G., (2017). AN ASSIMILATED APPROACH TO
DISCHARGE FOR BREACH OF CONTRACT BY DELAY. The Cambridge Law Journal,
pp.1-24.
Friedmann, D., (2016). Disgorgement of Benefits Gained by Breach of Contract. Osservatorio
del diritto civile e commerciale, (2), pp.581-596.
Hammer, M.J., (2016), September. Informed Consent in the Changing Landscape of Research.
In Oncology nursing forum (Vol. 43, No. 5, pp. 558-560).
Han, S., (2016). Force majeure, change of circumstances and termination of contract. Journal of
Law, Society and Development, 3(1), pp.31-44.
Mak, V., (2016). Private Law Perspectives on Platform Services. Journal of European Consumer
and Market Law, 5(1), pp.19-25.
Ooi, M., (2016). The ramifications of fragmentation in the choice of law for shares. Journal of
Private International Law, 12(2), pp.411-435.
Robertson, A., (2016). The limits of interpretation in the law of contract. Victoria U. Wellington
L. Rev., 47, p.191.
Wright, D., (2016). The Terms of the Contract. Using Commercial Contracts: A Practical Guide
for Engineers and Project Managers, pp.101-116.
Yeung, H. and Huang, F., (2016). Certainty Over Clemency: English Contract Law in the Face
of Financial Crisis. In The Effects of Financial Crises on the Binding Force of Contracts-
Renegotiation, Rescission or Revision (pp. 285-305). Springer International Publishing.
10