CACI No. 308. Contract Formation - Revocation of Offer
Judicial Council of California Civil Jury Instructions (2024 edition)
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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of defendant] contends that the offer was withdrawn before it was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
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].)
Secondary Sources
1 Witkin, Summary of California Law (11th ed. 2017) Contracts, §§ 159-165
13 California Forms of Pleading and Practice, Ch. 140, Contracts, §§ 140.22, 140.61
(Matthew Bender)
5 California Points and Authorities, Ch. 50, Contracts, § 50.351 (Matthew Bender)
27 California Legal Forms, Ch. 75, Formation of Contracts and Standard
104
Contractual Provisions, § 75.211 (Matthew Bender)
1 Matthew Bender Practice Guide: California Contract Litigation, Ch. 13, Attacking
or Defending Existence of Contract - Absence of Essential Element, 13.23-13.24
CONTRACTS CACI No. 308
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© Judicial Council of California.
