Is there a general duty of ‘reasonableness and fairness’ in contract law of common law. Reasonableness and Fairness' in Contract Law of Common Law in the United States

'Reasonableness and Fairness' in Contract Law of Common Law in the United States
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'Reasonableness and Fairness' in Contract Law of Common Law in the United States
Introduction
Contract law relates to private obligations among natural or artificial persons in symmetrical relationships rather than public obligations arising from relations of a hierarchical nature between persons and the state. Typically, contract law bases on the intentions of the contracting parties in terms of the chosen and voluntary obligations that they commit to (Daniel, 2015). In the United States, sources of contract law include common law and the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). Common law is derived from case rulings or legal precedents set by courts, while the UCC forms the statutory legal framework for contract law. In the foregoing, decisions in contract law rely on common law when unusual cases are encountered, which are difficult to determine based on the existing statutory regulations. This then gives rise to the contract law of common law. Moreover, concepts of reasonableness and fairness arise in the contract law of common law due to considerations for adjacent bodies of doctrine, namely tort law and fiduciary law (Daniel, 2015). It follows that the nearby frames of doctrine elaborate that parties entering a contract are also bound by unchosen and involuntary obligations to show due care and loyalty under their contractual agreement. Therefore, this paper shows that there is a general duty of reasonableness and fairness to ensure that the contract law of common law serves its purpose accordingly.
Formation of Contract Law of Common Law
In the United States, the contract law of common law applies when a contract in question cannot be governed by the UCC. Under these circumstances, stringent measures are undertaken based on the elements of offer, acceptance, as well as consideration. If any of these elements is missing, then a common law contract could be null or voidable (Lumen Learning, n.d.). To begin with, the features of offer and acceptance constitute mutual consent. In this regard, a common-law contract has to be linked to legal purpose, and parties can enter into the deal if it is to be enforceable. It is noteworthy that an offer provides the authority of acceptance to the other party, also known as the offeree. Further, the approval is valid only when it is a mirror form of law. This alludes that the acceptance has to be similar as the coverage in the offer accurately. Therefore, any counteroffer made in response to an offer will fall short of a valid approval and will be considered a rejection of the offer.
If an offeree rejects an offer, whether in an outright manner or through a counteroffer, the offeror is expected to walk away from the failed contractual agreement. In the same way, if the offeror reverts their provision before its acceptance by the offeree, it means that the power of acceptance has been withdrawn, and the common law contract ceases. In another scenario, the offeror can limit the time that an offer is valid by setting a limit on the duration that the offer can be accepted. Therefore, if the period for which the offer is valid elapses, the offe...