Charlie owns a large parcel of undeveloped land called “Utopia”. On October 9th, Charlie offers to sell it to Bobby for $10 an acre. Charlie and Bobby sign the following paper:

Charlie offers to sell Utopia to Bobby for $10 an acre, in cash. Date: October 9th

After signing the paper, Bobby goes home and thinks about the deal for two days. On October 11th, Bobby meets with Charlie at the local café. Bobby asks Charlie to reassure him that he wouldn’t sell Utopia to anyone else if Bobby goes to take a look at Utopia. After a long conversation, Charlie gives Bobby a signed note, written on a napkin that states:

If Bobby takes a look at Utopia, I, Charlie, agree to keep the offer open until Bobby has had some time to think about it.

Upon receiving the note, Bobby tells Charlie that he will drive over to Utopia right after their meeting. On October 11th, Bobby drives 100 miles (round trip) to Utopia to inspect it. Bobby is pleased by what he sees so on October 12th, Bobby makes arrangements to borrow money from the bank to buy Utopia.

On October 14th, Bobby is on his way to see Charlie tell him that he accepts the offer when he meets Charlie’s brother. The brother tells Bobby that on October 13th, Charlie discovered gold at Utopia, so Charlie probably wouldn’t be selling Utopia now. The next day, Bobby sends Charlie a letter (received by Charlie on October 17th) that states:

I, Bobby, accept your offer to sell Utopia for $10 an acre.

When Charlie receives Bobby’s letter, Charlie dispatches a messenger to Bobby to tell him that he wouldn’t be selling Utopia.

Question - Please advise Bobby as to his rights against Charlie and any claims that Charlie can make in his defense against Bobby.

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

Bobbys claim against Charlie would be for breach of contract A contract is an agreement between two or more parties that creates obligations that are ... View the full answer