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Out of respect for the individuals involved in an earlier discussion on this topic, I decided to start a new thread, rather than continue the original one. I did so, because I do not wish to be perceived as taking a stand on the specific example debated, but rather to share a "legal" opinion that I obtained from my lawyer, a former law professor for 20 years, so that I could be better informed about the questions raised.
Please do NOT flame me for taking a stand or fanning the fumes of an old fire. I'm sharing this information with the intent of adding an informed response to the questions that were raised. Perhaps the information will be of FUTURE assistance to all of us.
The official "legal" opinion is as follows: If an individual makes an offer to purchase an item that is priced less than $500.00, involves real estate, or one of a couple of other criteria that would exempt the transaction from the statute of frauds, if the seller posts a domain for sale and a potential buyer asks if the seller will sell it for $50.00 (or any amount under $500.00), a potentially legally binding contract to buy and sell has been completed.
The reason that I added the word "potentially" to the above-described example is that it is highly unlikely that any thoughtful seller who is acting in his or her best interests is going to formally sue the "buyer" for failure to complete his or her part of the contract for an amount this small. That does NOT mean, however, that a contract has not been made. Neither does it mean that the amount of $50.00 is too small to be of consequence or to be important to one party or the other. In essence, an offer to sell has been made and accepted, in a legal sense.
But as a famous movie mogul once pronounced, "An oral contract is only as good as the paper it is written on." :cheeky:
One MIGHT try to argue that an offer to purchase a domain name in a public forum such as DNForum.com is "only making an oral offer," but with electronic data storage capabilities, it would be hard to argue that for long.
I am offering this information in the hopes that it will provide additional information that we might all find useful in the future. I implore everyone to treat each other with respect and dignity and to be understanding when one of us makes a mistake. After all, we're all human. And we could all make a similar mistake, but in an atmosphere that is not as forgiving and understanding as we are capable of being here in our forum "home."
Best regards,
Sheila
Please do NOT flame me for taking a stand or fanning the fumes of an old fire. I'm sharing this information with the intent of adding an informed response to the questions that were raised. Perhaps the information will be of FUTURE assistance to all of us.
The official "legal" opinion is as follows: If an individual makes an offer to purchase an item that is priced less than $500.00, involves real estate, or one of a couple of other criteria that would exempt the transaction from the statute of frauds, if the seller posts a domain for sale and a potential buyer asks if the seller will sell it for $50.00 (or any amount under $500.00), a potentially legally binding contract to buy and sell has been completed.
The reason that I added the word "potentially" to the above-described example is that it is highly unlikely that any thoughtful seller who is acting in his or her best interests is going to formally sue the "buyer" for failure to complete his or her part of the contract for an amount this small. That does NOT mean, however, that a contract has not been made. Neither does it mean that the amount of $50.00 is too small to be of consequence or to be important to one party or the other. In essence, an offer to sell has been made and accepted, in a legal sense.
But as a famous movie mogul once pronounced, "An oral contract is only as good as the paper it is written on." :cheeky:
One MIGHT try to argue that an offer to purchase a domain name in a public forum such as DNForum.com is "only making an oral offer," but with electronic data storage capabilities, it would be hard to argue that for long.
I am offering this information in the hopes that it will provide additional information that we might all find useful in the future. I implore everyone to treat each other with respect and dignity and to be understanding when one of us makes a mistake. After all, we're all human. And we could all make a similar mistake, but in an atmosphere that is not as forgiving and understanding as we are capable of being here in our forum "home."
Best regards,
Sheila
