Contracts

An Oregon purchase contract clause states 'This offer shall expire at 11:59 PM on Friday.' The seller's acceptance is emailed at 11:45 PM on Friday, but the buyer sees the email at 8:00 AM Saturday. Is there a binding contract?

ANo — the buyer must see the acceptance for the contract to be valid
BYes — acceptance was communicated (sent) before the offer expired✓ Correct
CNo — email acceptance is not legally valid in Oregon
DYes — the buyer can ratify the contract by proceeding with due diligence

Explanation

A contract is formed when acceptance is communicated — the seller sent the acceptance before the offer expired. The modern rule for electronic communications (like email) generally treats acceptance as effective when sent and received by the server, not when the offeror reads it.

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