Bill, a builder, wants to submit a bid on a city sewer project.He computes the cost, but mistakenly omits the cost of one item.Accordingly, he submits a bid of $430,000 to the city.The next highest bid is $675,000, and the rest of the bids are even higher.The city is happy to have such a low bid, so it accepts Bill's bid and awards him the contract for the job, even though the city engineer is of the opinion the job cannot be done for less than $650,000.In this case:
A)Bill must perform for the agreed upon price, because he has made a unilateral mistake.
B)the city was aware of Bill's mistake.When it accepted the bid, with knowledge of Bill's mistake, the city sought to take an unconscionable advantage of Bill's error.
C)there is a palpable unilateral mistake.
D)Two of the above, (b) and (c).

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Bill has made a palpable unilateral mistake, which refers to a mistake that is easily noticeable and should have been caught by a reasonable person. The city was aware of Bill's mistake when it accepted the bid, and therefore, sought to take an unconscionable advantage of his error. Therefore, both options (b) and (c) are correct, and Bill may be able to seek relief from the contract.

Bill, a Builder, Wants to Submit a Bid on a City