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Contracts • Contract Formation
K#024
Legal Definition
An offer cannot be revoked if a party has relied in a way that is: (1) reasonably foreseeable, and (2) detrimental.
Plain English Explanation
If your offer to someone puts them in a situation that can cause them some sort of financial harm, and you should have known that was possible, then your offer cannot be revoked.
Hypothetical
Hypo 1: Bob is a general contractor collecting bids from various subcontractors so that Bob can submit their offer to a customer. Sam is a subcontractor who submits an extremely competitive bid to Bob. Bob submits his offer to the customer, which includes Sam's bid. Sam tries to rescind their bid. Result: Sam's bid was so competitively priced that they should have reasonably foreseen that Bob would select them when forming their offer for the client. Moreover, Bob has relied on Sam's offer and faces detrimental consequences if Sam doesn't follow through (since Bob would lose money going with a different subcontractor). Thus, Bob has detrimentally relied on Sam's offer and, as a result, Sam may not revoke his bid, even though no option contract or firm offer exists.
Visual Aids
Related Concepts
Are offers assignable?
Are pre-existing duties valid consideration?
Can partial payment of a debt be consideration for release of that debt?
How can an offeree reject an offer?
How do courts assess the adequacy of consideration?
How may an offer be revoked?
Though offers can generally be freely revoked, what are the 4 exceptions?
Under battle of the forms, what happens to additional or different terms in an acceptance when at least one of the parties is a non-merchant?
Under battle of the forms, what happens to additional terms in an acceptance between two merchants?
Under battle of the forms, what happens to different terms in an acceptance between two merchants?
What are consideration substitutes?
What are illusory promises and how do they affect a contract?
What are requirement and output contracts?
What are the methods of terminating an offer?
What are the requirements of an offer?
What are the UCC Gap Fillers?
What is acceptance?
What is a contract?
What is a merchant's firm offer?
What is an option contract?
What is consideration?
What is promissory estoppel?
What is required to form a valid, binding contract?
What is the effect of a conditional acceptance on an offer?
What is the effect of a contract that contains vague or ambiguous terms?
What is the effect of a contract that is missing price terms?
What is the effect of a contract that is missing quantity terms?
What is the effect of a counteroffer on an offer?
What is the effect of a lapse of time on an offer?
What is the effect of an offeree beginning to perform in response to an offer?
What is the effect of a seller sending non-conforming goods?
What is the effect of including additional or different terms to an offer?
What is the effect of part performance of a unilateral contract?
What is the effect of the death of a party prior to acceptance of an offer?
What is the Mailbox Rule and when does it apply?
When are advertisements valid offers?
When are price quotes valid offers?
When is past or moral consideration valid?
Who controls the method of acceptance, and what are the typical ways that an offer is accepted?
