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Contract Analysis Case Study : Peterson Vs. Simpson

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Contract Analysis Case Study: Peterson vs. Simpson This paper will give a brief legal and spiritual analysis of the case of Peterson vs. Simpson. Facts of the Case This is the case of Marshall Peterson, the customer, verses Marcia Simpson, owner and distributor of Fruit Fresh Inc. Fruit Fresh Inc., has been the producer and supplier of Muscadine grapes to Marshall Peterson’s local health food store for 6 months. Fruit Fresh Inc. had a commercial agreement with Marshall Peterson to supply Muscadine grapes on a monthly basis invoiced at a fixed term of thirty days. Marshall Peterson, agreed to pay Fresh Fruit Inc. in good faith within thirty (30) days of the date of the invoice. After several months of continued business, Fresh Fruit Inc. …show more content…

The second part of the contract is referred to as consideration. Consideration is the term used to identify the entity or object that is being exchanged or bargained-for. The next element of a legally binding contract is called contractual capacity. Contractual capacity is defined as the legal ability of a person who is entering into a contract. For example, someone who is inebriated does not have the mental capacity to enter into a contract. And the final part of the contract is called a legal object. This means that the contract is legally bound. That means that no part of the contract can be illegal or against public policy. Therefore, given the above definition of a legal contract, all elements did not exist in the case of Peterson verses Simpson. First, the contract violates the agreement within a legal contract. The offer was made by Marshall Peterson but Fresh Fruit Inc. did not legally accept the contract. Fresh Fruits Inc. was not aware of its employee entering into the contract with Peterson nor did the employee have the legal authority to do so. If an agent has no authority to act on behalf of a principal but the agent still enters into a con- tract with a third party, the principal, regardless of the classification, is not bound to the contract unless the principal ratifies the agreement (Kippenhan, pg. 447). Not only was there no legal agreement, but there was a violation

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