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Elements of a Contract

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ELEMENTS OF A CONTRACT AND ENFORCEABILITY UNDER COMMON LAW AND UNIVERSAL COMMERCIAL CODE (UCC)

Student Name: Michael Shepard

Course Name and Number: Business 670: Legal Environment of Business

Instructor: Dr. Leah Westerman

Submission Date: April 20, 2015
Abstract
This article will define the five elements needed to form an enforceable contract under common law and the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). It will describe which types of contracts come under common law and under UCC. It examines one hypothetical, non-competitive agreement between a Chef and an employer (namely, Fabulous Hotel) in terms of enforceability and whether common law or UCC need to be applied to the specific case. The contract in question requires Chef to not become employed at any other dining establishment in the same metropolitan area for a period of two years after separation of employment with Fabulous Hotel. The article shows under four possible conditions in which the contract may become unenforceable. It concludes with reinforcement of contractual elemental requirements and suggests more appropriate contract formation provisions in serving best interest of both parties under common law and UCC.
Five Elements of a Contract The five elements needed to form a viable contract are: offer by one party to another or many, acceptance by the offered party, consideration (usually in the form of remunerative compensation for accepted offer) in exchange for accepted offer, legal capacity, and consent. Judges look at another set of circumstances when deciding about contracts; that being assent; or intention to enter legally binding agreement. However, assent is part of consideration and therefore not an essential stand-alone element necessary as a part of a whole in formulation of a legally-binding and enforceable contract (Ricks, (2013). Even though assent (or

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