ACCT 324 1st Edition Lecture 4 Outline of Last Lecture I Finishing up The U S Legal System II Steps in Civil Litigation III Contracts Outline of Current Lecture I Implied in Fact vs Implied in Law II Classifications of Contracts III Interpretation of Contracts IV Begin Chapter 14 Case Example to Begin the Chapter Current Lecture I Implied in Fact vs Implied in Law It is important to distinguish Implied in Fact and Implied in Law the following are two case examples that will help distinguish the two Implied In Fact Pase Aviation Case Police chief of a volunteer company helped the NY fire department while helping them he had a heart attack and died The family wanted the state of NY to pay workers comp and funeral expenses and the family won even though the state claimed he wasn t actually an employee of the state Because the NY fire department accepted the volunteer s help on a regular basis so it was an implied contract of employment Implied In Law Painter Example A painter accidentally paints your house when you re home inside and aware of it and not your neighbors when they were supposed to paint your neighbor s house not yours If taken to court you would have to reimburse the painter for his work because this is an Implied in Law contract The painter did work on your house that you were fully aware was not supposed to take place AND you had the opportunity to stop the work These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute II Classifications of Contracts 3 types 1 Valid All elements of the contract formation are satisfied 2 Void Illegal purpose subject matter therefore unenforceable aka the law would not be able to enforce the contract 3 Voidable One or both parties can withdraw from the contract Important terms when classifying contracts III Executed All terms of contract fully performed Executory some duties under the contract have not been performed by one or both parties any contract is executory until all parts are fulfilled Formal Contract must meet special form requirements Informal Contract No formalities required in making a simple contract i e a contract with your landlord at the end of the day all you do is sign it Interpretation of Contracts Plain Meaning Rule The court will decide on the case by actually interpreting the contract itself i e Looking at the lease agreement to decide on a dispute between a landlord and a renter IV Beginning Chapter 14 The Andrews Case Mr Andrews was given a verbal contract for employment written follow up was supposed to be sent to him but the hiring party called his old employer and the employer said that Mr Andrews was a bad employee so they didn t give him the job he sued state said that he did not have to be given the job because there was too much left to be discussed there was no Definite and or Certain terms of a contract In this case the court agreed with the hiring company they did not have to hire Mr Andrews because there were no definite terms of a contract too much was up in the air to be made official Definite and Certain Terms are required because the court needs something to go off of when a party says that s not what we agreed to