Earlier this year, Domino’s introduced a new method for ordering a pizza that involved the use of Twitter and the pizza emoji. While being able to simply tweet and have a pizza delivered to your door may be easy, a question exists as to when, and if, a valid contract is created by this action.
Tweeting for a Pizza
An individual who wishes to take advantage of the pizza emoji ordering method must have an online Domino’s Pizza Profile with an Easy Order pizza saved in his or her account. In addition, he or she must add his or her Twitter account to his or her Pizza Profile. After this is accomplished, the individual can tweet the pizza emoji
to the Domino’s account (@dominos). An emoji is simply a small digital image, which, in the case of the pizza emoji, is a slice of pizza. Once Domino’s receives the tweet, a direct message will be sent to the person confirming the order. The individual must approve the order before the pizza is officially ordered.
Is it a Contract?
A valid, enforceable contract is created when four elements exist:
1. Offer: a party must make a definite, clear promise to do something;
2. Consideration: something of value must be promised in exchange for the benefit;
3. Acceptance: the offer must be accepted. In most cases, the acceptance must be of the exact terms that were offered. If new terms are introduced, it is considered a counter-offer, which the person who made the original offer can accept, reject, or propose another counter-offer; and
4. Mutuality: this is often referred to as a “meeting of the minds.” It means that both parties understand and intend to be bound by the terms of the contract.
The act of tweeting the pizza emoji to Domino’s probably does not constitute a valid offer. Rather, it is likely an expression of interest or request for a proposal, both of which are not considered an offer. In other words, the tweeted emoji represents an individual stating that he or she is interested in purchasing a pizza and asking Domino’s what they can offer to satisfy that interest.
While tweeting the emoji may not constitute a valid offer, individuals can still order pizzas through this method. This is because of the direct message requesting confirmation of the order. At this point, an offer with consideration has been made. Domino’s has promised to make and deliver a pizza in exchange for the amount of money it states the pizza costs in the confirmation message. When the individual responds positively confirming the order, acceptance has been completed. At that moment, the individual has agreed to pay the stated price in exchange for the pizza.
Understanding contracts is important because they are a significant part of all of our lives. If you would like more information about the creation or breach of contracts, please contact a knowledgeable Schaumburg, IL civil litigation attorney today. Our firm represents individuals throughout the northwest suburbs, in communities such as Crystal Lake, Schaumburg, Palatine, Des Plaines, Rolling Meadows, Buffalo Grove, Barrington, Arlington Heights, Inverness, and Deer Park.
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Source:
https://www.dominos.com/en/pages/customer/#/customer/profile/