Application: A Valid Contract

There are four essential elements that must be present for an agreement to be considered a contract enforceable in a court of law. All four of these elements must be present to have a contract.

Read through the brief case that follows and determine whether a contract exists. If all of the essential elements are present, then a contract exists. If one or more of these elements is missing, then a contract has not been formed.

Identify and define each of the four essential elements of a contract. Use the facts of the case to explain whether each of these elements is present and whether a contract has been formed.

Based on the case that follows, write a 150-word paper that identifies the four essential elements of a contract, describes how each element has or has not been met by the facts presented in the case, and determines whether a contract exists.

Charley offered to pay Sammy $10,000 to burn down Charley's restaurant, The Horse Barn, so that he (Charley) could collect on a fire insurance policy he had acquired when he first opened the restaurant. Since opening the restaurant, Charley had been losing money and he now needed the funds to pay outstanding obligations for which he did not have the cash. Since Sammy needed money to pay for a new car, he burned down The Horse Barn as requested. Sammy then went to Charley's house to collect his money.