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Contract Catering
Contract Catering is a catering with "CONTRACT" in law, a promise,
enforceable by law, to perform or to refrain from performing some
specified act. In a general sense, all civil obligations fall under
tort or contract law. Torts are usually characterized as violations of
duties that are imposed on all persons and that have been established
entirely by law. In contracts, on the other hand, the parties
determine, at least in part, what their obligations to one another will
be. Special types of contracts are given separate articles, e.g.,
negotiable instrument , insurance , and deed .
Criteria for Enforcement
For a contract to be valid, both parties must indicate that they agree
to its terms. This is accomplished when one party submits an offer that
the other accepts within a reasonable time or a stipulated period. If
the terms of the acceptance vary from those of the offer, that
"acceptance" legally constitutes a counteroffer; the original offering
party may then accept it or reject it. At any time prior to acceptance,
the offer may be rescinded on notice unless the offering party is bound
by a separate option contract not to withdraw. Only those terms
expressed in the contract can be enforced; secret intentions are not
recognized. For a contract to be binding, it must not have an immoral
or a criminal purpose or be against public policy.
Other criteria for the enforcement of contracts have varied. In the
earliest type of enforceable promises, it was the form of the contract
(e.g., a sealed instrument) or the ceremony accompanying its execution
that marked the essence of the transaction; contracts not sealed or not
dignified by ceremonies held a lesser status, and were therefore not
always enforceable. The importance of promises in commercial and
industrial society produced a new criterion, and generally a promise is
now enforceable only if it is made in exchange for consideration, i.e.,
a payment, for some action, or for another promise. In some
jurisdictions, statutes have made certain promises enforceable without
consideration, e.g., promises to pay debts barred by the statute of
limitations. To be enforceable, most contracts must be in writing, to
comply with the Statute of Frauds (see Frauds, Statute of ).
Since a contract is an agreement, it may be made only by parties with
the capacity to reach an understanding. Therefore, individuals
suffering from severe mental illness are unable to make binding
contracts. Until the late 19th cent., married women were also without
contractual capacity, because at common law they were considered the
creatures of their husbands and without wills of their own (see husband
and wife ); this disability has been removed by statute universally.
Minors are not bound by their contracts, but they are responsible for
the value of goods received in contracts made for necessities of life.
Otherwise, a minor may denounce his contracts at any time and on
attaining majority may elect whether to affirm or repudiate them (see
age of consent ).
A contract must also be the uncoerced agreement of the parties; thus,
if it is procured by duress or fraud it is void. A contract can be
unenforceable if it is so one-sided as to be found unconscionable,
where the terms are unreasonably favorable to one party; often the
material that constitutes unconscionability is buried in fine print or
expressed in obfuscatory jargon. Adhesion contracts, which afford no
occasion for the weaker party to bargain over their terms, are often
offered to purchasers of consumer goods and services, but are not
necessarily unconscionable.
Termination of Contracts
While a contract is still wholly or partly unperformed it is termed
executory; contracts may terminate, however, in ways other than by
being fully executed. If the object of the contract becomes impossible
or unlawful, if the parties make a novation (a new superseding
agreement), or if the death of one party prevents that party from
rendering personal services he or she had agreed to perform, the
contract is terminated. The injured party may also treat the contract
as a nullity if the other party refuses to perform. The law provides
several remedies for breach of contract. The most usual is money
damages for the loss incurred. In cases where some action other than
the payment of money was contracted for, a court may grant the
plaintiff an injunction ordering specific performance. If one party is
unjustly enriched by a contract that he or she then repudiates legally,
restitution may be required. A typical example of this is ordering a
minor who revokes a contract to restore the things of value that were
obtained. |