Contract Formation, Performance, and Remedies
Formation Elements
A candidate must be able to identify offer, acceptance, consideration, capacity, and legality, and to explain how each fails. Distinguish an offer (definite, communicated, showing intent to be bound) from an invitation to treat. Understand the mirror-image rule and the modern UCC modification allowing acceptance with different or additional terms between merchants. Know when the mailbox rule applies and when it does not.
Defenses and Performance
Study the Statute of Frauds categories and the writing requirements, plus exceptions such as part performance and specially manufactured goods. Understand conditions precedent, concurrent conditions, substantial performance, material breach, anticipatory repudiation, and the doctrine of impracticability versus frustration of purpose. Know the perfect tender rule for goods and the substantial performance standard for services.
Remedies
Be able to distinguish expectation, reliance, restitution, and consequential damages, and to apply the duty to mitigate and the foreseeability limit from Hadley v Baxendale reasoning. Understand liquidated damages versus penalties, specific performance and its adequacy-of-legal-remedy limit, and the UCC cover and resale formulas.
Traps and Rule of Thumb
Questions often confuse revocation with rejection, or treat a counteroffer as acceptance. Watch for the firm-offer rule (signed writing, merchant, no consideration needed) and for option contracts. Rule of thumb: identify the moment the power of acceptance ends; most formation questions turn on that single point. For remedies, ask what position the plaintiff would have occupied had the contract been performed.