OFFER AND ACCEPTANCE

INTENT TO CONTRACT

A. Objective theory of contracts: Contract law follows the objective theory of contracts. That is, a party’s intent is deemed to be what a reasonable person in the position of the other party would think that the first party’s objective manifestation of intent meant. For instance, in deciding whether A intended to make an offer to B, the issue is whether A’s conduct reasonably indicated to one in B’s position that A was making an offer.

Example: A says to B, "I’ll sell you my house for $1,000." If one in B’s position would reasonably have believed that A was serious, A will be held to have made an enforceable offer, even if subjectively A was only joking.

B. Legal enforceability: The parties’ intention regarding whether a contract is to be legally enforceable will normally be effective. Thus if both parties intend and desire that their "agreement" not be legally enforceable, it will not be. Conversely, if both desire that it be legally enforceable, it will be even if the parties mistakenly believe that it is not.

Example: Both parties would like to be bound by their oral understanding, but mistakenly believe that an oral contract cannot be enforceable. This arrangement will be enforceable, assuming that it does not fall within the Statute of Frauds.

1. Presumptions: Where the evidence is ambiguous about whether the parties intended to be bound, the court will follow these rules: (1) In a "business" context, the court will presume that the parties intended their agreement to be legally enforceable; (2) but in a social or domestic situation, the presumption will be that legal relations were not intended.

Example: Husband promises to pay a monthly allowance to Wife, with whom he is living amicably. In the absence of evidence otherwise, this agreement will be presumed not to be intended as legally binding, since it arises in a domestic situation. #p#分页标题#e#

C. Intent to put in writing later: If two parties agree (either orally or in a brief writing) on all points, but decide that they will subsequently put their entire agreement into a more formal written document later, the preliminary agreement may or may not be binding. In general, the parties’ intention controls. (Example: If the parties intend to be bound right away based on their oral agreement, they will be bound even though they expressly provide for a later formal written document.)

1. Where no intent manifested: Where the evidence of intent is ambiguous, the court will generally treat a contract as existing as soon as the mutual assent is reached, even if no formal document is ever drawn up later. But for very large deals (e.g., billion dollar acquisitions), the court will probably find no intent to be bound until the formal document is signed.


订立合同的意思表示


A、客观原则：合同法遵循客观原则，就是说，要约方的意思表示，是一个通情达理的人处于受要约人地位时认为的、要约方客观表示出来的意思。例如，判断A是否要向B发出一个要约，就是判断A的行为对一个处于B地位的通情达理的人来讲，A是否在发出一个要约。
例如：A对B说，“我要以1000美元的价格把我的房子卖给你”，如果处于B位置的人能够合理的认为A是认真的，那么A就被认为是做出了一个有效的要约，即使A自己认为是开玩笑的。


B.合同的法律执行力：双方当事人关于合同是否有法律执行力的意思表示通常也是有法律效力的。如果双方都没有意愿使合同有强制执行力，那么合同就不会有效。相反，如果双方都期待合同有强制执行力，即使双方当事人错误的认为合同无效，合同仍然是有效的。
例如：双方当事人希望他们的口头约定是有效的，但是却错误的认为口头合同没有法律执行力。如果这个协议没有违反《防止欺诈法》的话，该协议仍然是有效的。 #p#分页标题#e#


1.关于推定：如果对于当事人是否有意受合同约束有疑问，法庭将依据下列原则做出推定：（1）如果是在“商业”情境中，法庭将判定双方当事人有意受合同约束。（2）如果是在“社交”或“家庭”情境中，法庭会判定没有受合同约束的意思。
例如：丈夫答应每月付给与他和睦相处的妻子一些津贴。这个许诺在没有其他证据的情况下，就不被认为是有法律约束力，因为这个许诺是在“家庭”环境中做出的。

C.后期制作书面协议的意思表示：如果双方口头或书面同意了所有的条款，但是决定之后将整个协议制作成正式的书面文件，那么临时的协议可能有效也可能无效。该临时协议的效力通常取决于双方当事人的意愿。（例如：如果双方当事人希望口头协议立即生效，即使之后他们才将协议制作成正式的书面文件，该口头协议也是有效的。）


1.没有明确的意思表示的情况：如果没有明确的意思表示，法庭通常以双方当事人一致同意作为合同存在的依据，即使事后并没有制作正式的书面的文件。但是对于数额巨大的交易（货物价值10亿美元），法庭可能把签署正式的书面文件作为合同有效的依据。