20(1)(a)): "There is no manifestation of
mutual assent to an exchange [no binding contract] if the parties attach materially different meanings to their manifestations and neither party knows or has reason to know the meaning attached by the other..." In other words, if the parties unknowing attach different meanings to a material term of their agreement, no binding contract is formed.
One area that may be especially tricky for a smart contract is showing "
mutual assent" to the contract.
(204) At bottom, these agreements are best understood as religiously sanctioned loopholes to avoid religious rules against charging interest, and do not represent the parties'
mutual assent to adopt contractual obligations.
(48.) RESTATEMENT (SECOND) OF CONTRACTS [section][section] 3 (agreement defined), 18 (manifestation of
mutual assent) (1979); see also Rodgers v.
A showing of
mutual assent is necessary for there to be an enforceable contract.
According to the courts, the Act provides broader relief than that afforded by contract law because it uses the term "employment agreement" rather than "employment contract." One court explained, "[a]n 'agreement' is broader than a contract and requires only a manifestation of
mutual assent on the part of two or more persons; parties may enter into an 'agreement' without the formalities and accompanying legal protections of a contract." (20)
an in-depth discussion of
mutual assent in clickwrap, specifically the
In the particular case of expectation damages, the challenge is to see whether there can be such entitlements at the moment of contract formation and therefore fully established solely through the parties' expressions of
mutual assent even in the absence of actual reliance.
The concept of
mutual assent, or a meeting of the minds, is basic to contracting.
This Essay explores an alternative to one of the pillars of contract law, that obligations arise only when there is "
mutual assent"--when the parties reach consensus over the terms of the transaction.