ABC Farms Ltd has lost one of its horses due to a broken fence which allowed the horse to escape. ABC decides to post a notice in the local newspaper offering a $200.00 return for the return of the lost horse. The horse is easily identifiable from any other due to unique marking in that its ears and head are black and the rest of it is white. John Smith shows up a few days later at ABC with the horse and claims the 200.00 reward. ABC accepts the horse but is going through some rough financial times and says they won't pay the reward because John Smith did not communicate with them beforehand that he was going to look for the horse and would accept the offer to return the horse.

What legal argument can John Smith make so that ABC will be contractually bound to pay him the reward? What landmark case would he rely on?

Refer to Canadian contractional law and the attached articles/summary to guide your response

https://www.cbc.caews/business/montreal-s-dov-charney-seeks-40m-from-company-he-founded-american-apparel-1.3011726?cmp=rss

CHAPTER SUMMARY Through an awareness of contract law. business organizations are better able to protect themselves when forming and enforcing contracts. Contracts generally are not required to be in a particular form. but clear agreement on all essential terms is necessary. Those involved in negotiating contracts should be aware of the legal impact of their communication with each other, and they should realize that they are largely responsible for protecting their own interests before agreeing to terms. Contract rules are understood best when assessed in the broader business context, which includes the impact iat any given legal decision by a business may have on its reputation with other businesses, withits customers, and in the community at large. A. business must also assess its legal options in light of the business relationship at issue1 the need to generate a prot, the uncertainty of the marketplace, and the importance of conducting operan'ons with a sense of commercial morality. honesty, and good faith. CHAPTER SUMMARY A contract comprises fouressential elements: offer. acceptance, consideration. and intention to contract. Before a contract can be formed. one party must make an offer on a complete set of certain terms. An offer can be terminated in a number of ways. includingby revocation. lapse. rejection. counteroffer. death, or insanity. Assumingthatan offeris on the table. the other party mustuncondionallyaccept all the term a of the offer for the offer to be considered accepted. Each party must give something (called consideration) in exrhange for the prom'me or performance of the other. The parties must intend their bargain robe a contractual one. Ifany one of these elements is raising, the relationship is non-contractual by definition There are occasions. however. when the law will enforce a promise that is not supported by consideration. In short. if the promise is under seal, meets the requirements of promissory estoppel, or is subject to a specialized statutory scheme. such as the partial payment ofdebt. it Iwill be enforceable. As well. the "EL 155' New Brunswick Court of Appeal and British Columbia Court of Appeal are willing to enforce gratuitous contractual variations provided they are freely chosen. Aside from these exceptions. a gratuitous prom is: is not binding. no matter how seriously it was intended and no matter how much the other party may have relied on it. This legal reality is particularly important when varying a term in an existing contract. While the conditions for creating a legal agreement may seem stringent. they serve an important purpose. Contract law is about creating voluntary agree- ments and is therefore facilitative. In sum. it helps those in the marketplace to determinein advance of litigationthe legal enforceability of comroltroents they have received, and thereby leis them do business more effectively. CHAPTER SUMMARY The nature. scope. and extent of the obligations of the parties to a Contract are known as the terms of the contract. The terms may be express. as when they have been specically mentioned and agreed upon by the parties, or they may be implied. Since the court has considerable discreti on to imply a term or not, parti es are best advised to make their agreement as clear and as explicit as possible. How courts will resolve a contractual dispute over terms is an open question, as is any matter that proceeds to litigation. An important evidential rule that guides a judge is known as the para] evidence rule. It prevents the introduction of evidence that varies or adds to the terms of a written contract when the con- tract is clear and intended to be the sole source of the parties' obligations. Entire contract dauses are used to propel a court to apply the parol evidence rule in an;r given case. An important planning function ofcontract law lies in the fact that it permits parties to manage the risk offuture uncertainties. Additionally, it permits them to establish. in advance. the extent of remonsihility forbreach through limitation clauses and exemption clauses. Furthermore, parties can bargain for what will be payable in the event of breach. Such a term will be enforceable. provided the amount is a genuine pie-estimate of damages and not a penalty. Nil. 185 Courts may refuse to apply a clause that disadvantages a consumer if the busi- ness in question failed to take reasonable steps to ensure that the consumer was alerted to the clause in question in circumstanoes where it appears the consumer has not assented. Courts are less likely to assist the commercial or industrial cus- tomer, however, on the basis that sophisticated business interests should he left to take care of themselves.