# Tenaya Morkner - California Bar Essay **Email:** tenayamorkner@gmail.com **Exam:** California **Packet:** BYOP Upload (upload_b58e0273-eb5a-4d22-bf1b-9bce4d3a0fa5) **Submitted:** May 20, 2026 at 3:54 PM ET **Word Count:** 1,407 **Time Spent:** 18 seconds (pasted pre-written answer) --- ## Grade **Band:** 4 of 6 **Descriptor:** Adequate - at or near passing threshold --- ## Feedback Overall, you have a solid grasp of the foundational legal principles of contract law. You are generally successful at identifying the relevant issues and stating the correct rules. Your performance on the Statute of Frauds and offer termination issues was particularly strong, showing an ability to synthesize rules with facts effectively. To improve your score, you must focus on consistent application across all issues. In several instances, you provided accurate rules but failed to connect them to the facts, leaving your analysis conclusory. Additionally, ensure you are looking for secondary issues or exceptions - such as the part performance exception or equitable remedies - when the primary contract formation fails. Practicing a more rigorous 'rule-to-fact' mapping for every issue will help you move from a basic understanding to a more comprehensive, high-scoring analysis. --- ## Student Answer Applicable Law The UCC governs the sale of goods, while the common law governs contratcs for services, and the sale of real property. Here, Aln offers to give Betty his office building in exchange for medical treatment. Thus, because the contract governs real property and services, the common law governs this contract. Contract Formation A valid contract requires offer, acceptance, consideration, and no defenses. Under the separate writings rule, the contract can be evidenced in multiple writings. Offer An offer is an objective manifestation of willingness by the offeror to enter into an agreement that creates the power of acceptance in the offeree. It must express a promise, include the essential terms, and be communicated to the offeree. Essential Terms Under the common law, the essential terms are the parties, the subject of the contract, the price, and the quantity. For the sale of land, the property must be sufficiently identified. Here, Al told Betty that he would give her his office building if she share for him for the rest of his life. Thus, the parties were identified (Al and Betty) and the quantity (one office building). However, the price is less clear, because it is uncertain how much it will cost to treat him for the rest of his life. Additionally, the office building likely is not sufficiently identified, because it is unclear which office building, or where the building is located. Betty will argue that the office building is identified because it is whatever builing Al owns. Howvever, Al's estate could argue it is too unclear because perhaps he wons multiple office buildings, and there are no descriptive characteristics that identify the particular office building that is the subject of the contract. Thus, while it was communicated to Betty, this offer likely does not have sufficient essential terms to be valid. Objective Manifestation of Intent An offer is an objective manifestation of willingness by the offeror to enter into an agreement that creates the power of acceptance in the offeree. Here, Al has alzheimers and is being treated by Betty. Depending on the severity of his alzheimers, and how he was acting at thhe time he made this statement, it is possible that based on the objective theory of contracts, that no reasonable person would think he intended to be bound. Betty will argue that Al was clear enough in his statement, and he clearly offered to give her the building in exchange for her valuable services. This is evidenced by the fact that he said he has no heris to care for him, and he needed to know he can depend on her. Al's estate may argue that because of his mental disease and age, nobody could reasonbly think he intended to be bound. In fact, Betty herself doubted he even ownded an office building and believed he was destitute. Because of this, she ignored him when he made the statement and did not think he was making a serious offer to her. Thus, he likely did not have the necessary objective manifestation of intent to make a valid offer. Death of Offferor An offer if automaticlaly terminated on the death of either party if it has not been accepted. Here, Al died in his sleep the night before he recieved the letter from Betty. Thus, as discussed more below, if the offer had not been succesfully accepted before he died, it terminated on his death. Lapse An offer terminates by lapse if it is not accepted within a reasonable amount of time. Here, Al made the offer to Betty while she was treating him, but she did not respond to his statement. In fact, she did not try to accept the offer until two years later when she learned that he did in fact own an office building. Betty will argue that two years is reasonable, because its an important deal to consider, and she did not know for certain whether the office buidling existed until that point. Al's estate will argue that two years is well beyond the reasonable amount of time for an offer to be accepted. Because two years is so lng, and Betty even forgot about the offer in that time, the offer likely terminated due to lapse. Acceptance Acceptance is the objective manifestation of intent to be bound by the terms of the offer. At common law, the mirror image rule requires the acceptance to mirror exactly the offer to be a valid acceptance. A bilateral contract can be accepted by any reasonable means, unless the offer specifies the means of acceptance. Here, Betty said "I accept you offer and promise to provide you with medical services for the rest of your life" and signed the note. This mirrors exactly what Al had said to Betty two years prior, thus it complies with the mirror image rule, and is not converted into a rejection and a counter offer. Further, it clearly denotes an objective intent to be bound by the terms of the offer. Further, because Al did not speicifiy how Betty could accept, a letter was a reasonable means of acceptance. Thus, this could constitute a valid acceptance if all other requirements were met, which they were not. Mailbox Rule Under the mailbox rule, an acceptance is valid once it is dispached by mail. Here, Betty placed the letter outside her front door to be picked up by the mail carrier the next day. Betty will argue that the letter was dispached when she placed it outside her door, because this is where the carrier dropped off and picked up her mail, as evidenced by the fact that he did collect the letter and deliver it the next day. Al's estate would argue that this was not dispached, because it was not placed in. amailbox or drop box, but simply placed on her doorstep. It could have been blown away by the wind or stolen. Thus, they would argue it was only dispached once it was in the possession of the carrier the next morning. Overall, this is a factual question that could be argued either way. If the letter was found to be dispached when placed on the doorstep, then it would be accepted before Al died and would hterefore be valid. However, if it was not dispached until the next morning, the offer was terminated on Al's death before the letter was placed in the mail, and there was no acceptance. Consideration Consideration is a bargained for exchange of legal detriment or legal benefit. Here, Al offered to give Betty the Office bUilding, and Betty agreed to give him medical services for the rest of his life. Both parties incurred a detriment and a benefit. Thus, there is a bargained for exchange. However, an issue arises because Betty's services were provided before the contract was made. Past Consideration Past consideration is an act or benefit performed before a contract is formed. Because the service was already completed prior to the promise of compensation, it cannot serve as valid legal consideration. Here, Betty was already treating Al when he made the promise to give her the office building, and continued to do so after that because she did not take him seriously. All of these services were done before she accepted his offer in her letter. Thus, when she accepted the letter, the consideration was all the services she would provide from that point until his death. However, because he died in his sleep that night, she did not provide any services, and there was not sufficient consideration. Statute of Frauds Contracts for the sale of land must satisfy the statute of frauds (SOF) in order to be enforceable. The SOF requires that the contract be in writing, identify the parties, have a sufficient description of the land, and be signed by the party against whom enforcement is sought. Here, the only writing is Betty's letter which simply says "I accept your offer" and does not restate the promise to give theoffice building. Further, even if it had, Betty did not know the location of the building, so it woul dnot be sufficeitly identified, as discussed with Al's offer. Finally, the letter was signed by Betty, but enforcement it sought agianst A's estate, and Al did not sign the letter because he died before reciving it. Thus, the SOF is not satisfied, and the contract, even if valid, would not be enforceable against Al's estate.