Brief Fact Summary. Plaintiff, the executrix of Petterson’s estate, is seeking $780 in damages from Defendant, Pattberg. Petterson came to Defendant’s home, having met the other conditions, to pay off the remaining principal minus $780 pursuant to the Defendant’s offer. Defendant refused to accept the money and informed Petterson that the bond and mortgage had been sold to a third party.
Synopsis of Rule of Law. A unilateral contract may be revoked at any time prior to the performance of the requested action.
Petterson paid the April installment on time. In late May, Petterson came to Defendant’s home and indicated that he was there to pay the remaining principal. Defendant refused to accept the money and told Petterson that he had sold the bond and mortgage to a third party. As a result, Petterson was required to pay the full amount of the remaining principal.
Issue. Did Defendant revoke the offer prior to acceptance?
Held. Yes. Defendant revoked the offer to enter into a unilateral contract prior to Petterson’s acceptance.
• A unilateral contract involves one party making a promise in exchange for performance of an act by the other party. In a unilateral contract, the party making the promise is not seeking a promise in return, but the performance of the requested action. An offer to enter into a unilateral contract is not accepted until the requested action is performed. In the present case, the Court determined that Defendant’s letter constituted an offer to enter into a unilateral contract.
• An offer to enter into a unilateral contract may be revoked at any time prior to acceptance. Under these facts, the Court found that Defendant revoked the offer prior to Petterson’s acceptance when Defendant informed Petterson that the bond and mortgage had been sold before accepting the payment of the principal from Petterson.
A bidder at sheriff's sale has a right to withdraw his bid at any time before the property is struck down to him, and the sheriff has no authority to prescribe conditions which deprive him of that right.
View Full Point of LawDiscussion. An offer to enter into a unilateral contract may be revoked at any time prior to the performance of the requested act. In the present case, the Court found that Defendant revoked the offer prior to Petterson performing the requested action. However, it should be noted that the law applied in this case is not the current law as reflected in the Restatements of Contracts (Second).