Julia Pitt runs a boutique that specializes in luggage and travel items. Julia contacts Tumi luggage about carrying its line of messenger satchels. The Tumi representative tells Julia that Tumi would be happy to sell her 100 Tumi Black Messenger bags for $318 each. Julia is happy with the price and asks Tumi to send the bags. The Tumi representative then faxes a confirmation of the shipment of the 100 bags at $318 each. Julia receives the fax. When the bags arrive, Julia contacts Tumi and says there is a business downturn and that she does not want the bags and that there was no contract anyway.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The fax that Tumi sent to Julia constitutes an offer and, because Julia ordered the bags in response to that offer, a contract was formed. Additionally, if Julia wanted to avoid the contract, she should have notified Tumi before the bags were shipped, not after. The fact that there was no physical signature does not invalidate the contract as long as the parties intended to be bound by the terms communicated via fax.

Julia Pitt Runs a Boutique That Specializes in Luggage and Travel