Opinion ID: 852355
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Was There an Enforceable Agreement to Modify the Site?

Text: We proceed to examine Gray Loon's claim for payment under common law principles. The basic requirements for a contract are offer, acceptance, consideration, and a meeting of the minds of the contracting parties. Rosi v. Bus. Furniture Corp., 615 N.E.2d 431 (Ind.1993). Whether a contract exists is a question of law. Orr v. Westminster Village North, Inc., 689 N.E.2d 712 (Ind.1997). To be valid and enforceable, a contract must be reasonably definite and certain. Wenning v. Calhoun, 827 N.E.2d 627 (Ind.Ct.App.2005); See Wolvos v. Meyer, 668 N.E.2d 671, 675-76 (Ind.1996). All that is required to render a contract enforceable is reasonable certainty in the terms and conditions of the promises made, including by whom and to whom; absolute certainty in all terms is not required. Only essential terms need be included to render a contract enforceable. Illiana Surgery & Med. Ctr., LLC. v. STG Funding, Inc., 824 N.E.2d 388 (Ind.Ct. App.2005). Thus, where any essential element is omitted from a contract, or is left obscure or undefined, so as to leave the intention of the parties uncertain as to any substantial term of the contract, the contract may not be specifically enforced. Johnson v. Sprague, 614 N.E.2d 585 (Ind. Ct.App.1980). A court will not find that a contract is so uncertain as to preclude specific enforcement where a reasonable and logical interpretation will render the contract valid. See Donavan v. Ivy Knoll Apartments P'ship, 537 N.E.2d 47 (Ind.Ct. App.1989). Piece of America contests on several grounds the trial court's finding that it had a contract with Gray Loon. First, it states: There was no evidence of any writing executed by any party which would have modified the contract by increasing the scope of work. (Reply Br. at 3.) It cites as analogous Kern v. City of Lawrenceburg, 625 N.E.2d 1326 (Ind.Ct.App.1993), in which the Court of Appeals required a subcontractor to obtain a written change order to receive payment for water hauling services that were not included in the subcontract and precluded recovery for water hauling services on quantum meruit theory because the express contract covered the subject matter. An essential difference between this case and Kern is that Kern's contract explicitly called for a change order in writing. Here, such a requirement did not exist. The only formal agreement between these parties was the 2003 document under which both parties performed. We see the 2004 request for changes to the completed website as a new transaction rather than an expansion of scope. Second, POA asserts that Gray Loon has not demonstrated there was any oral or written agreement on a price for the modifications it alleges were requested, consequently, [Gray Loon's] claim for making those changes must fail. (Reply Br. at 4.) The evidence in the record concerning whether the parties regarded price as essential, such as it is, favors the trial court's judgment. Piece of America asked Gray Loon for the changes it made and did not inquire into how much it would cost. The only evidence submitted regarding the reasonableness of the price consists of the invoice itself and POA's acceptance of the price through Dennis Conwell after receiving the invoice. There is no evidence that Gray Loon participated in any unconscionable effort to strong-arm POA into paying an unreasonable fee. In light of all that, the trial court was right to enforce the agreement even though Gray Loon had not provided a cost estimate. [9]