Dear tutor,

I need your guidance on the following contract law question:

Case Study:

Monica is a fashion designer and she wanted to set up her own retail shop to sell her own creations. She managed to find a suitable place for rent, but it needed extensive renovations. She called up her friend, Cathy, for help. Cathy owned an interior design business and she was ecstatic to be able to help her friend and make a profit at the same time.

Without any delay, both of them made arrangements for Cathy to visit the rented premises on 1st February to take measurements and thereafter provide a proposal for the renovation works for Monica's consideration.

On 3rd February, Cathy prepared a renovation proposal with a price quotation of $15,000 and sent it to Monica via email. Monica loved the design concepts that Cathy prepared, but she had some reservations on the steep pricing that Cathy quoted.

On 5th February, Monica called Cathy over her mobile phone to negotiate the pricing for the renovation works. During the phone call, Monica offered to pay only a sum of $10,000 in total. Cathy reluctantly agreed to this price, telling Monica that she is only agreeing to this because they are friends.

The next day, on 6th February, Cathy sent Monica the soft copy of the full documentation (including the design proposal and the pricing) via email, for her reference. When Monica read through the documentation, Monica found that certain items of the renovation works (such as the installation of new wallpaper) were removed from the original design proposal.

Monica immediately called Cathy to ask about this, and Cathy replied that due to the price reduction, she felt that she had no choice but to remove some of the renovation work items. Monica was deeply disappointed and told Cathy that she will be finding another interior designer to do the work. Cathy replied that there is already a contract between them and therefore Monica cannot back out.

Question 1:

(A) Explain whether there is a valid contract between Monica and Cathy. Identify and discuss the four (4) elements of a contract.

(B) Discuss the legal significance (if any) of Cathy's email of 6th February (containing the full documentation) that was sent to Monica.

(C) State the relevant citation.

Thank you for your help. Appreciate!