Question

On September 1, Michael Keaton, a used car dealer, wrote a letter to Christian Bale in which he said, "I have a 1955 Bat-mobile in mint condition that I recently purchased from Adam West. I will sell you this vehicle for $14,500 at any time before October 10. [Signed] Michael Keaton." By September 15, having heard nothing from Christian, Michael sold the Bat-mobile to Ben Affleck. On September 29, Christian accepted Michael's offer and tendered $14,500." When Michael told Christian that he had sold the car to another Batman actor, Christian claimed that Michael had breached their contract. Is Michael in breach? Explain.

Answer 1

Issue : Michael Keaton made an offer to Christian Bale to sell a car on September 1, and the offer indicated that it should be accepted by October 10. However, on not hearing from the offeree, the car dealer sold the car on September 29 to Ben Affleck. Now Christian Bale claims that Keaton has breached their contract.

Rule : A contract is an agreement enforceable by law. An agreement is an accepted offer. An offer, once made, may be revoked any time by the offeror before its acceptance by the offeree.

Application: In the given situation, though Bale had a timeline of October 10 for acceptance, the car dealer had sold it to Ben Affleck on September 29. Keaton had not committed any breach of contract with Bale by doing so, as there was no contract in the first place. There was only an offer, and there was no acceptance of the offer by Bale.

Conclusion : Christian's claim that Michael has committed breach would not prevail in a court of law, as there was no contract, and hence no breach of contract by Michael.