Distant Deal Making
Maria, who lives in Seattle, sent Koji a letter via first class mail, stating, "Koji, I think your 2003 Ford SUV is worth $20,000. I will give you $20,000 cash for it." Koji receives the letter, but believes his car isn't worth more than $14,000 due to the manner in which he drives the vehicle and due to the weather in Florida where he resides.
Maria's letter was mailed on Monday. When she didn't hear from Koji by Wednesday, she sent an e-mail on Wednesday afternoon with the same message, and asked whether he received her letter. Koji received Maria's letter on Wednesday, but did not receive the e-mail until Friday afternoon, due to server problems. In the meantime, Koji sent a fax late on Friday stating, "Are you sure you still want to buy my car for $20,000? I accept your offer."
On Saturday, after some research, Maria decided the Ford SUV was not worth what she thought. To make certain Koji would know this fact, she sent Koji a letter via Federal Express stating, "Your SUV is not really worth $20,000." On Monday morning, Koji received the Federal Express letter from Maria. Also on Monday morning, an hour later, Maria received Koji's fax at work.
Has a contract been formed here? Why or why not? Identify and explain the stages of contract formation as they occurred in this scenario and analyze them in this context from a contract formation standpoint.
let's cover the basics by covering the concept of the mailbox rule and applying it to our facts here. What is the mailbox rule?