Week 3 Discussion – Business Law

Option #2: Review the story box on the first page of Chapter 10. Answer the questions raised
using the text. You may want to review chapter four’s discussions of ethical theory. Please limit
your comments to 500 words or less.
1. Is Clooney’s handwritten note an offer that could bind him to wash cars (in a toga) if
accepted?
Mr. Clooney’s handwritten letter was meant to be funny, and therefore, a sensible person would
not treat this explicit statement as a binding contract even if it is accepted. More or less, the
exact offer was made in jest and it’s too good to be valid for a realistic person; hence, it would
not pass the requirement that courts look at to determine a clear offer.
2. One can imagine, if Clooney were asked whether he intended to be making a formal
offer to contract, he would likely respond something to the effect, “I certainly did not mean
to commit myself to toga-clad car washing. I was joking!” What legal significance does this
subjective intent have on whether the letter constitutes an offer to contract?
If the letter establishes an offer to a contract, the subjective standard of intent would explicitly
explore if the parties have a true agreement. Langvardt, Barnes, Prenkert, McCroy, and Perry,
(2018) write, “if a reasonable person familiar with all the circumstances would be justified in
believing that the offeror intended to contract, a court would find the intent requirement of an
offer was satisfied even if the offeror himself says that he did not intend to contract,” (p364).
3. How would the determination of whether Clooney was joking be made as a legal
matter? Is it relevant to whether the letter is an offer?
The letter did not have definiteness and specificity; therefore, it does not qualify as a valid offer.
Because there is a lack of specificity and definiteness, this means both parties are still
negotiating, and common law argues that all essential terms are not precisely proposed in the
contract; which in itself is relevant to whether the letter is an offer.
4. Assuming it is not a joke, is the letter specific enough to be an offer?
According to our text, “A proposal that fails to state specifically what the offeror is willing to do
and what he asks in return for his performance is unlikely to be considered an offer,” (Langvardt
et al., 2016, p364). With the idea that it is not a joke, then one would believe it is distinct enough
to be considered an offer. In his note, Clooney stated that if you are willing to donate to his
father’s campaign, he will wash your car every week in a toga until it’s paid off (p363).
Nonetheless, what troubles me is that the letter doesn’t specifically state what is meant by “until
it is paid off”, does “it” mean the car note or the donated amount between $500-$4,000? Plus, he
doesn’t state what specific monetary value per wash; which I believe is required to determine a
successful offer and perhaps makes this letter not specific enough.
Langvardt A., Barnes A., Prenkert, J., McCroy, M., Perry, J. (2018). Business law: The ethical, global,
and e-commerce environment. (17th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Education.