Question

Newly widowed, 80 year old Bob lives alone in a large Victorian 5 bedroom house because his children have finally flown the coop. He decides to downsize and sell his large house. While Bob waits for a buyer to make an offer, Bob is diagnosed with a stage 4 brain tumor, a tumor so severe that it begins to affect his memory. A week later, Patty, a nosey neighbor, approaches Bob with an offer to purchase the large Victorian for her son Oliver and family for $100,000, a price incredibly lower than the average price of $200,000 that the Victorian would usually sell for, but that she would pay in cash immediately upon acceptance. Oliver and Sarah did not have knowledge that Patty was going to make the offer, in fact Patty intended for the house to be a surprise for the young family. Bob then asks for a week to think about the offer. Patty says that is fine and goes home where she runs into her son Oliver, who happily tells her that he and his wife, Sarah, just bought a house down the street and will be moving in the following week to their new house. Patty, excited to have her Son move so close to her, forgets about her offer to Bob for Oliver and Sarah. A week later, Bob approaches Patty, and accepts her offer of $100,000 for his Victorian house. Patty immediately tells Bob that Oliver and Sarah have bought another house and she will not need to buy Bob’s house.

Answer 1

In this scenario, a critical factor is the communication between Bob and Patty, along with Patty's intent.

Patty initially approached Bob with an offer to purchase his house for $100,000, significantly below its market value.

However, Patty later discovers that her son, Oliver, and his wife, Sarah, have purchased another house nearby, rendering Patty's original intention to buy Bob's house unnecessary.

Despite Patty's offer to Bob and his subsequent acceptance, Patty's withdrawal from the deal based on the changed circumstances doesn't constitute a legally binding agreement.

An essential aspect of contract law is the meeting of the minds, where both parties agree to the same terms under the same circumstances. In this case, Patty's intent to buy the house for her son influenced her offer to Bob.

However, since the circumstances changed with Oliver and Sarah purchasing another house nearby, Patty's intent and offer to buy Bob's house were affected.

Therefore, Bob's acceptance of Patty's offer might not form a legally enforceable contract because Patty's intent and offer were contingent on her son not purchasing another house nearby.

Patty's subsequent withdrawal from the deal due to the changed circumstances and her lack of intent to follow through on the purchase for Oliver and Sarah's benefit could be considered a fundamental misunderstanding of the original terms, potentially invalidating the agreement.