The Statute of Frauds is a defense to certain oral contracts. In this lesson, the student is guided to always ask three questions: 1) Is the agreement within the Statute of Frauds? 2) Is the agreement evidenced by a writing? 3) Is there an exception to the Statute? Experience with this framework should help in […]

Mistake is one of the hardest defenses to analyze. After breaking the subject down into a number of different categories of mistake, the lesson focuses on the elements of mutual mistake. The concept of mutual mistake is then explored through a particular case, Lenawee County Board of Health v. Messerly, and a particularly problematic area, […]

This lesson explores the elements of the fraud defense, looking at both affirmative misrepresentation of facts and failure to disclose facts. The user should finish with the ability to determine which element is in issue in a case. via Fraud and Misrepresentation | Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction.

Professor Scott Burnham discusses unconscionability, the Williams v. Walker-Thomas case, and reasonable expectations. This podcast is a perfect supplement to Professor Burnham’s Unjust Terms (Unconscionability) CALI tutorial. [audio:http://www.cali.org/lessons/podcasts/896-Burnham_Unconscionability_ReasonableExpectations.mp3] via Contracts: Unconscionability and Reasonable Expectations Podcast | Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction.

A court has the power to police contracts, to determine whether they contain “unconscionable” provisions. This lesson explores the criteria courts use in exercising that power, focusing on the case of Williams v. Walker-Thomas Furniture Co. via Unjust Terms (Unconscionability) | Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction.

Duress is one of those concepts that is easy to define and hard to apply. The lesson explores which kinds of “threats” are likely to provide a defense to contract formation and which are not. via Duress and Undue Influence | Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction.

This lesson explores the defense that a contract is illegal. In some cases, the legislature has ruled that certain kinds of contracts are illegal, while in other cases it is up to the court to make the determination. This lesson examines the criteria used to make that determination and the consequences to the parties if […]

As you work through the various defenses to contract formation, you will find that sometimes the defense makes the contract void, sometimes voidable, and sometimes unenforceable. This lesson provides an examination of that vocabulary to assist the user when running the lessons that follow. via Void, Voidable and Unenforceable Contracts | Center for Computer-Assisted Legal […]

A contract has been formed if there is offer, acceptance, and consideration. But the contract is not necessarily enforceable, for there may be a defense to its formation. These defenses may arise because of the subject matter of the contract, because of its form, or because of the behavior of a party or the status […]

This lesson takes a look at the basic aspects of the contractual element of Consideration. In a typical transaction, the consideration (described as a bargained-for-exchange) is what induces the making of the promise by the offeror. In turn, the promise induces the furnishing of the consideration by the offeree. Consideration is the ordinary means for […]