LAW/421
Case Scenario: Big Time Toymaker
Big Time Toymaker (BTT) develops, manufactures, and distributes board games and other toys in North America, Chou is the inventor of a new strategy game he calls Strat. BTT had an interest in distributing Strat and entered into an agreement with Chou, offering him $25,000 in exchange for exclusive negotiation rights for a 90-day period. This agreement stipulated that no distribution contract existed unless it was in writing.
On day 87 of the agreement, the parties held a negotiation meeting and came to an oral agreement on the terms of the distribution agreement. Chou offered to draft the written distribution agreement and send to BTT. Before Chou could draft the contract, BTT’s manager sent Chou an e-mail with the subject line “Strat Deal” that outlined the key terms of the distribution agreement, including price, time frames, and responsibilities of both parties and their acceptance of the agreement. Chou, believing that this e-mail was the final written agreement, let one-month pass before BTT sent a fax requesting he fax over the draft distribution agreement contract. Chou immediately faxed the draft contract to BTT; however several months passed without a response from BTT. After a change in management at BTT, Chou was advised that BTT was not interested in distributing his game. This paper will review the case scenario and highlight why Chou has a case against BTT for breach of contract by answering the following questions posted within this case scenario and course syllabus. 1. At what point, if ever, did the parties have a contract?
To determine at what point, if ever, Big Time Toymaker (BTT) and Chou ever had a contract we must first look to see if the parties had mutual assent. This means in order for the contract to be valid, the parties must reach an agreement through the concept of offer and acceptance. In this case we first see BTT making an offer of $25,000 to