Contract Law and Strategies Course - Texas A&M University School of Law

Introduction to Contract Law

• Distinction between public and private law
  • Public law: Legal duties imposed in public arena, e.g., criminal law, tort law
  • Private law: Legal duties from private contracts, where parties have a choice
• Common misconceptions about contracts
  • Not just old parchment or legalese-filled documents
  • Contracts can be non-written and conceptual

Course Overview

• Formation of Contracts
  • Assent through offer and acceptance
  • Requirement of consideration: Value exchange between parties
• Authorities in Contract Law
  • Common Law
  • Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) Article 2
  • United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG)
• Defenses to Contract Formation
• Terms and Interpretation
  • Dispute over agreed terms and their meanings
• Performance and Breach
  • Non-performance leads to breach of contract
  • Remedies for breach

Intersections with Other Areas of Law

• Examples include consumer protection, tort, family, criminal, property, and securities law
• Overlapping influence of contract law on these areas

Importance of Contract Law

• Central to private rights and responsibilities
• Early focus in legal education

Common Law in the United States

• Definition and Origin
  • Judge-made law from England, dating back to 1066
  • Principles developed and recorded in cases
• The Restatement (Second) of Contracts
  • Compilation of common law into a single document
  • Not binding, but scholarly reference

Other Legal Frameworks

• Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)
  • Governs sale of goods, adopted by nearly all U.S. states
• United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG)
  • Governs international business contracts and sales

Conclusion

• Overview sets the stage for future course materials
• Emphasis on diverse aspects of contract law