An Agreement between Two Parties - Essay Example

This paper highlights different kinds of contracts like void contracts, voidable contracts, unilateral contracts, bilateral contracts, express contracts, and implied contracts and it also sheds light on some examples of valid considerations.

            Certain elements must be present at the time of forming a contract. There are three main elements of a contract; offer acceptance and considerations. An offer is when one party promises another party to do or abstain from doing some act in return for a favor. Acceptance is the process when the offer is accepted by the other party. When it is all decided and agreed upon both parties set up considerations. A consideration is an act or return promise that each party makes with the other party before making the contract. Some examples of valid considerations are a promise for an act, an act in exchange for an act, or a promise for a promise. For example, if Mr. A offers Mr. B $100 if he washes his car. This is a valid consideration where one party is getting money for accepting the contract whereas the other party is getting a favor in terms of getting his car cleaned.

            A void contract in reality is not a contract at all; it is not enforceable by the law. A contract may become void if the three elements are not fulfilled. There are certain cases in which any contracts made are considered void. These circumstances include contracts with unlawful consideration, contracts that restrain a party from marriage, trade, or legal proceedings also labeled as void contracts. On the other hand; voidable contracts are proper contracts but are such where one party is bound by the contract but the other party may have the authority to reject the contract. These contracts include contracts that are made by coercion, fraud, under the influence, or misrepresentation.     

            A unilateral contract is a contract where parties exchange a promise for an act. Such is a contract where a party promises some kind of consideration example money or any promise in exchange for an act that the other party has to do. These contracts are also known as one-sided contracts as only the party that has made the promise and has offered something is bound by the law to complete the contract. A bilateral contract is also known as a two-sided contract where both parties are bound by the law to complete the contract. It is a mutual exchange of promises, performance of an act, or restriction of an act. And these promises are enough consideration for the other party to make this contract enforceable.

            An express contract is one where all elements of the contract, the agreement, acceptance, and consideration, are clearly stated when the contract is drawn up. These terms may be written down or orally accepted by both parties. It is a very rigid kind of contract where the offeree accepts the agreement where he explicitly agrees to the terms mentioned. An implied contract is a different kind of contract than an express one. An implied contract is a contract where the contract is not agreed upon in verbal terms but it is an agreement of the minds and something that is implied according to the surrounding circumstances and the relationship between parties. These types of contracts are made up of inference (made from the meeting of minds) rather than from explicitly formed contracts. The United States Supreme Court in the case of Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Co. v. United States recognized that such contracts do exist and are enforceable by the law.