CACI 308 Contract Formation—Revocation of Offer
California Civil Jury Instructions CACI
308 Contract Formation—Revocation of Offer
Both an offer and an acceptance are required to create a contract. [Name of defendant] contends that the offer was withdrawn before it was accepted. To overcome this contention, [name of plaintiff] must prove one of the following:
1.That [name of defendant] did not withdraw the offer; or
2.That [name of plaintiff] accepted the offer before [name of defendant] withdrew it; or
3.That [name of defendant]’s withdrawal of the offer was never communicated to [name of plaintiff].
If [name of plaintiff] did not prove any of the above, then a contract was not created.
New September 2003; Revised May 2020
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Directions for Use
Do not give this instruction unless the defendant has testified or offered other evidence in support of the contention.
This instruction assumes that the defendant is claiming to have revoked the defendant’s offer. Change the identities of the parties in the indented paragraphs if, under the facts of the case, the roles of the parties are switched (e.g., if defendant was the alleged offeree).
Sources and Authority
•Revocation Before Acceptance. Civil Code section 1586.
•Methods for Revocation. Civil Code section 1587.
•“It is a well-established principle of contract law that an offer may be revoked by the offeror any time prior to acceptance.” (T. M. Cobb Co., Inc. v. Superior Court (1984) 36 Cal.3d 273, 278 [204 Cal.Rptr. 143, 682 P.2d 338].)
•“ ‘Under familiar contract law, a revocation of an offer must be directed to the offeree.’ [Citation.]” (Moffett v. Barclay (1995) 32 Cal.App.4th 980, 983 [38 Cal.Rptr.2d 546].)