Unilateral Contracts
A unilateral contract is an agreement where one party makes a promise in exchange for a specific action by another party. In this context of offer and acceptance, the offeror promises something if the offeree fulfills the action. For example, if someone offers a reward for finding a lost pet, the contract is formed when someone finds and returns the pet. Here, the offer is the reward, and acceptance occurs through the action of finding the pet. Unlike bilateral contracts, where both parties make promises, only one party commits to an obligation in a unilateral contract.
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A unilateral contract is an agreement where one party makes a promise in exchange for a specific action from another party. The contract is only binding when the second party fulfills that action. For example, if someone offers a reward for finding a lost pet, they promise to pay the reward only if the pet is found. The person who finds the pet accepts the contract by completing the action—not by making a promise in return. In essence, one party is obligated to fulfill their promise when the other party performs the required task.