Discuss the legal issues raised by the following situation:

Your firm's client, Lee, owner of Lee's Landscaping (LL), has a problem. On April 2, LL gave its standard form contract to a potential client, Rene, for signature. The contract stated a price of $25,000 for the work specified by Rene. It was not signed by LL, but stated that Rene should sign the contract and return it to LL and that "this contract will be deemed accepted by LL when LL either returns the signed contract to homeowner or begins work." LL had intended the clause to provide flexibility. Its work is very dependent on weather and LL wants to be able to take advantage of good weather, even if it has not yet signed a contract and returned it to the homeowner.

Rene returned the signed document on April 4. The contract extends credit to Rene, so LL immediately ordered a credit report. Unfortunately, it was the busiest time of the year, and LL did not review and approve the report until April 10. On April 13, the area had its first dry day in two weeks. LL sent two trucks and four workers to Rene's property. When they arrived, Rene told the workers to leave. Another company had agreed to do the same work for less money.

Is the situation likely covered by UCC or common law?

Are there any missing facts about what happened between April 4 and April 13 that might influence your opinion?

How would you characterize LL's actions on the morning of April 13?

Would your opinions change if the nature of the contract changed, so that LL were a catering service that asserted that it would accept either by signing the customer's signed offer or by delivering food on the day of the party?