Question

Business law:  Donald Trump stated that he would donate $1 million to the charity of Elizabeth Warren’s choice if she had an ounce of Indian (meaning Native American) blood, as Elizabeth Warren had claimed in the past. Elizabeth Warren had a DNA test and the results indicated that she had ancestors who were Native American.

1. Is this a contract?

2. Why or why not?

3. Identify and define the rule(s) of law you used to reach your conclusion.

Answer 1

Yes, it was a contract. A contract is a written or spoken agreement between two or more parties which is enforceable by law. For a contract to be enforceable there are following factors must be present; offer, consideration, acceptance, and legality of the offer. In the provided case, Donald Trump made an offer to pay $1 million to charity if warren gets her DNA tested and it proves that is a Native American. Hence, it was a legal offer. By getting her DNA tested Warren accepted the offer. Therefore, a contract was formed between Trump and Warren. It was a unilateral contract and Trump must fulfill his promise.