MEMORANDUM
TO: Supervising Attorney
FROM: Researcher #1243618
DATE: November 23, 2010
RE: Jeanie Bueller Contract Issue
Issues
I. Contract
Under New York contracts law, does an enforceable contract exist when a man tells his girlfriend that he will give her half of his winnings from a poker tournament if she gives him a kiss, and the girlfriend gives him a kiss, and the man, after winning the tournament, tells his girlfriend that he did not mean what he stated about giving her half of his winnings?
A. Acceptance
Under New York contracts law, is there acceptance of an offer when a girlfriend gives her boyfriend a kiss in response to his offer of giving the girlfriend half of his winnings if she gives him a kiss?
B. Consideration
Under New York contracts law, does consideration exist to form a contract when a boyfriend states he will give half of his poker winnings to his girlfriend if she kisses him and the girlfriend does kiss him?
C. Revocation
Under New York contracts law, is there revocation of an offer when, after winning the tournament, the boyfriend tells his girlfriend that he did not mean what he said to her about giving her half of his winnings?
Brief Answers
I. Contract
Yes, a New York court will likely hold that a contract exists when a man states to his girlfriend that he will give her half of his poker winnings if she gives him a kiss, and the girlfriend responds by giving him the kiss because the man presented an offer for half of his winnings, which the girlfriend accepted by giving the kiss, and the kiss showed that she gave the man consideration by undergoing a detriment to her personal choice; thus, all elements (offer, acceptance, and consideration) of the contract are present, and the offer was not revoked when the boyfriend said to his girlfriend that he did not mean what he stated about giving her half of his winnings because the girlfriend already accepted the offer so it can no longer be revoked.
A. Acceptance
Yes, a New York court will likely hold that there is acceptance of an offer when the girlfriend responded to her boyfriend’s offer by giving him a kiss because the offer required a kiss from the girlfriend to accept the offer, because the offer clearly required a kiss and she gave him the required kiss, so the girlfriend satisfied acceptance by indicating her acceptance of the offer with the required kiss.
B. Consideration
Yes, a New York court will likely hold that there is consideration when a girlfriend kisses her boyfriend to accept an offer from the boyfriend because contracts law requires that the promisor receive a benefit or the promisee undertake a detriment, and the girlfriend undertook a detriment by having to kiss her boyfriend because she was not otherwise required to kiss her boyfriend unless she wanted to accept his offer. C. Revocation
No, a New York court will likely not hold that revocation of the offer occurred when the boyfriend told his girlfriend that he did not mean what he said to her about giving her half of his winnings because a revocation cannot occur after the offer has been accepted, as it had been by the girlfriend by giving the boyfriend the kiss for which he asked.
Statement of Facts
The client, Jeanie Bueller, wants to recover half of her ex-boyfriend’s winnings from a poker tournament because her ex-boyfriend, Ed Rooney, prior to the tournament, told her “Give me a kiss, Baby, and I will give half of whatever I win to save your shelter,” and Bueller gave him a kiss. After winning the tournament, Rooney told Bueller that he did not mean what he said about giving her half of the winnings, but Bueller wants to claim half of the winnings based on his offer of the winnings, her acceptance of the offer, and her consideration given to Rooney.
Ed Rooney and Jeanie Bueller dated for six years prior to the World Poker Championship. Bueller runs an animal shelter that she founded. Bueller’s shelter was running low on funds, and Bueller contemplated
