A provision of the UCC, as a point of illustration, not necessarily an expression of the governing law in this case (this is not a contract for goods):
Unless otherwise unambiguously indicated by the language of the offer or the circumstances:
An offer to make a contract invites acceptance in any manner and by any medium reasonable under the circumstances. . . . a definite and seasonable expression of acceptance may . . . create a binding obligation . . .
It has been reported that T. Boone Pickens made this offer:
Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens' offer of $1 million to anyone who can disprove even a single charge of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.
Presuming Pickens did make such an offer to “anyone,” his response to John Kerry's acceptance of Pickens' offer seems at material variance to Pickens' original offer. You see, Pickens now is demanding:
Pickens wrote Friday in a letter faxed to Kerry, “I am certainly open to your challenge,” but he said he would not pay Kerry unless the senator first provided him with copies of his wartime journals, as well as movies he shot while on patrol and his complete military records for 1971 to 1978.
Obviously only John Kerry could provide such documents. But Pickens' offer was to “anyone.” I believe that Pickens has now made John Kerry a second offer for $1 million.
It would be interesting if Kerry also accepted Pickens' second offer. One would expect that Pickens will welch on that one too of course. But it would be fun to watch him squirm.
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only covers goods. Still, one wonders if it is an enforceable offer, particularly if Kerry relied on the promise.
is to dig up new and different mud to obfuscate the fact that the first batch of mud didn’t stick.
Blatant bait and switch
…if T. Boone is serious about this, let him do what we used to do with bets when I was in high school and university: turn the cash over to a mutually acceptable neutral party. Establish the rules for a pay-off. When the pay-off rules have been met, distribute the money to the appropriate property.
In this case, the rules could be agreed on what constitutes proof, the million bucks could be transferred to an escrow account, and an independent body of three (or five, or whatever) could be set up to govern when the rules have been met and to distribute the money.
Anybody – Kerry included – who trusts T. Boone in this matter outside some such system is a fool.